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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — of ice
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. scale — size or range
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. kid — child
  8. game — a match
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. game — wild animals
  13. kid — to tease
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. cap — a lid
  18. mine — for digging
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. scale — in music

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