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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. staff — a stick
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. wind — moving air
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. band — a music group
  11. staff — employees
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. band — a ring
  16. staff — employees
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. deal — to handle
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. sharp — clever
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. deal — an agreement

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