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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. bass — low music
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. shower — rain
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. shower — to wash
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. row — a line
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. cap — of ice
  15. deal — to handle
  16. row — to paddle
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. cap — a hat
  19. bass — the fish
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. cap — a lid
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. sharp — clever
  24. bass — the instrument

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