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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. cold — not warm
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. firm — decided
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. date — the fruit
  11. snap — to click
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. last — to go on
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. staff — employees
  16. firm — steady
  17. firm — a company
  18. last — final
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cold — an illness
  21. last — finally
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — in biology

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