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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. spring — of water
  9. degree — from a university
  10. spring — the season
  11. degree — an amount
  12. ground — crushed
  13. spring — a coil
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. degree — temperature
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ground — a position
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. date — the fruit
  21. snap — to click
  22. ground — the earth
  23. wind — moving air
  24. deal — a big deal

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