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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. march — the month
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. game — a match
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. land — to come down
  10. row — a line
  11. lean — thin
  12. snap — to click
  13. lean — to bend
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. game — wild animals
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. row — to paddle
  20. march — the month
  21. land — a country
  22. land — ground
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. march — music

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