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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. can — to be able to
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — a phone
  8. can — a tin
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. firm — a company
  12. deal — to handle
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. kid — to tease
  17. march — the month
  18. firm — steady
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. kid — child
  22. can — a tin
  23. net — after costs
  24. firm — decided

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