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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. spell — a short time
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. spell — letters
  7. pound — a weight
  8. saw — the tool
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. file — a line of people
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. squash — to crush
  13. file — a tool
  14. bass — the fish
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. saw — the tool
  17. file — a document
  18. squash — the sport
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. hand — help
  21. bass — low music
  22. spell — magic
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. squash — the vegetable

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com