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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. bark — to shout
  3. net — after costs
  4. chip — for betting
  5. spring — the season
  6. rush — hurry
  7. net — in sport
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. spring — of water
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. land — ground
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. land — a country
  16. net — for catching
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to sink
  19. deal — to handle
  20. spring — a coil
  21. chip — to eat
  22. land — to come down
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. deal — an agreement

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