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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. cold — an illness
  4. craft — boats
  5. wind — moving air
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — for light
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. swing — music
  11. craft — a skill
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. shower — rain
  15. fine — high quality
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. deal — to handle
  18. swing — in golf
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. swing — to play on
  24. shower — to wash

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