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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: deal · jam · racket · lean · net · last · game · fork

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. last — to go on
  8. net — for catching
  9. last — final
  10. game — a match
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. game — wild animals
  13. lean — to bend
  14. deal — to handle
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. net — after costs
  17. lean — thin
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. fork — in a road
  20. net — in sport
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. last — finally

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