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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. hand — help
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. plane — a tool
  6. deal — to handle
  7. capital — a city
  8. hand — in cards
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. tube — the underground
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. staff — a stick
  16. shower — rain
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. staff — employees
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. capital — money
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — a leader
  23. shower — to wash
  24. staff — employees

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