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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. spring — the season
  3. face — to confront
  4. cell — a phone
  5. tube — a container
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. spring — of water
  8. mug — a face
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. deal — to handle
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. face — part of the head
  15. mug — to rob
  16. cell — in biology
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. face — to point toward
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mug — a cup
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. chest — of your body
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. tube — the underground

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