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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: present · swing · date · kid · deal · net · fan · saw

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. kid — child
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. swing — in golf
  6. kid — to tease
  7. net — after costs
  8. present — the time now
  9. deal — to handle
  10. net — for catching
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. present — there
  14. swing — music
  15. swing — to play on
  16. net — in sport
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. date — the fruit
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. present — a gift
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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