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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: deal · stick · straw · date · wind · hand · stand · ball

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. ball — a great time
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. hand — in cards
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. hand — help
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. deal — to handle
  13. ball — a dance
  14. date — the fruit
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. wind — moving air
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. ball — a round shape

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