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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. deal — to handle
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bound — certain
  6. face — to point toward
  7. swing — music
  8. swing — to play on
  9. chair — a leader
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bank — of a river
  12. bank — for money
  13. land — a country
  14. bank — for money
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. face — to confront
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bound — obliged
  19. cold — an illness
  20. swing — in golf
  21. land — ground
  22. cold — not warm
  23. land — to come down
  24. bound — tied together

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