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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — in sport
  4. staff — employees
  5. tear — from crying
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. shower — rain
  8. content — the amount
  9. net — after costs
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. staff — a stick
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. tear — to rip
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. shower — to wash
  16. spell — magic
  17. staff — employees
  18. content — happy
  19. spell — letters
  20. deal — to handle
  21. tear — from crying
  22. spell — a short time
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — side of the head

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