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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 116 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 play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. band — a ring
  5. court — of a king
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. court — for sport
  8. bass — low music
  9. current — happening now
  10. cold — an illness
  11. deal — to handle
  12. club — for golf
  13. cold — not warm
  14. lean — thin
  15. current — of water
  16. band — a music group
  17. current — electric
  18. lean — to bend
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. club — for dancing
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. club — a group
  23. bass — the fish
  24. court — of law

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