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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. hand — in cards
  4. march — music
  5. deal — to handle
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — in sport
  9. field — a subject
  10. march — the month
  11. mate — a partner
  12. field — for sport
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. hand — help
  16. net — after costs
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. field — farmland
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. mate — a friend
  21. march — the month
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. mate — to breed
  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