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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. net — after costs
  3. deal — to handle
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bear — the animal
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. face — to confront
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bat — the animal
  11. face — part of the head
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bear — the animal
  14. snap — to click
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — in sport
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cold — not warm
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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