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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: fork · bore · ground · band · toast · cabinet · cold · deal

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. band — a ring
  5. fork — in a road
  6. cold — an illness
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — crushed
  9. toast — bread
  10. cold — not warm
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. deal — to handle
  14. bore — to drill
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bore — to tire
  21. ground — the earth
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. fork — a garden tool

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