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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. deal — to handle
  5. last — to go on
  6. club — for golf
  7. club — for dancing
  8. fine — all right
  9. bear — the animal
  10. fine — high quality
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. last — final
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. last — finally
  15. bear — the animal
  16. club — a group
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bark — to shout

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