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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. bound — obliged
  3. ground — crushed
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. swing — to play on
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — tied together
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. swing — music
  12. swing — in golf
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. scale — size or range
  15. ground — a position
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. chest — of your body
  18. ground — the earth
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. chest — a box
  21. stock — goods
  22. scale — in music
  23. deal — to handle
  24. jam — a tight spot

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