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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem 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. game — a kind of play
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. land — a country
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a match
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rest — what's left
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. cold — an illness
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. hand — help
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. land — to come down
  20. fine — high quality
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. land — ground
  24. deal — to handle

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