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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 120 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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. pound — a weight
  3. rest — what's left
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. file — a tool
  9. rash — a series
  10. rest — a break
  11. file — a line of people
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. rest — what's left
  18. deal — to handle
  19. rash — hasty
  20. capital — money
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — to crush
  24. file — a document

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