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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. row — a line
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. toast — bread
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — after costs
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rash — hasty
  16. mine — for digging
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. row — to paddle
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. net — in sport
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. deal — to handle

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