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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. kid — child
  5. current — happening now
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mate — a friend
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. mate — a partner
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. current — electric
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — the tool
  14. deal — to handle
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. kid — to tease
  17. drill — a practice
  18. rush — hurry
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. current — of water
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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