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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. cap — a hat
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. saw — the tool
  5. cap — of ice
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a tool
  8. court — of law
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. charge — in control
  11. saw — the tool
  12. capital — money
  13. court — for sport
  14. charge — a price
  15. cue — a hint
  16. charge — electricity
  17. court — of a king
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. cap — a lid
  20. deal — to handle
  21. cue — for pool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. capital — a city
  24. cue — a signal

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