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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 120 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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. spell — magic
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. deal — to handle
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. rash — hasty
  14. shower — to wash
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. shower — rain
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rash — a series
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wound — an injury
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — a short time
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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