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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. tube — the underground
  5. race — the arms race
  6. band — a music group
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. pit — in a race
  10. race — humankind
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. race — a contest
  13. deal — to handle
  14. pit — a hole
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. hand — help
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. bore — to tire
  20. tube — a container
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. bore — to drill

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