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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. bear — the animal
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cue — a signal
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cap — a hat
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cue — for pool
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. file — a document
  17. cue — a hint
  18. file — a tool
  19. content — happy
  20. deal — to handle
  21. content — the amount
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a lid
  24. jam — in traffic

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