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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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Word bank
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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: hand · net · cabinet · mug · cold · saw · chair · deal

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. saw — the tool
  6. net — for catching
  7. saw — the tool
  8. hand — help
  9. mug — to rob
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. mug — a cup
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — in sport
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. hand — in cards
  19. chair — a leader
  20. mug — a face
  21. deal — to handle
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. cold — the Cold War

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