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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. kid — to tease
  3. capital — money
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pit — a hole
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. kid — child
  8. spring — the season
  9. deal — to handle
  10. rock — a stone
  11. spring — of water
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spring — a coil
  15. capital — a city
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. pit — in a race
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. rock — music
  24. capital — a big letter

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