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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. deal — to handle
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. land — to come down
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. land — ground
  9. rash — a series
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — for paper
  12. chair — a leader
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — goods
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — to point toward
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. rash — hasty
  21. clip — a video
  22. face — part of the head
  23. land — a country
  24. nail — for a hammer

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