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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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. hand — in cards
  4. mate — a partner
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. rule — government
  8. court — of a king
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. deal — to handle
  11. mate — a friend
  12. rule — a law
  13. mate — to breed
  14. pitch — completely
  15. bound — tied together
  16. court — for sport
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. bound — obliged
  21. capital — a city
  22. court — of law
  23. capital — money
  24. bound — certain

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