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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. deal — to handle
  7. court — of law
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. court — for sport
  12. wake — a trail
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. court — of a king
  19. fine — high quality
  20. prune — to trim
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. race — humankind
  23. fine — all right
  24. straw — dry grass

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