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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. game — a match
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. bat — the animal
  5. game — wild animals
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. cold — an illness
  14. lean — thin
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. deal — to handle
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — to bend
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. prune — to trim
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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