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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 116 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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. track — to keep track
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. cap — a lid
  6. net — in sport
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cold — an illness
  9. present — a gift
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. net — for catching
  13. bear — the animal
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. deal — to handle
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. net — after costs
  19. track — a path
  20. bear — the animal
  21. present — the time now
  22. present — there
  23. track — a song
  24. cap — a hat

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