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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 120 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: bear · straw · tear · deal · ball · mug · bat · bound

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. ball — a great time
  4. deal — to handle
  5. bound — certain
  6. mug — a face
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. tear — to rip
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bear — the animal
  13. mug — to rob
  14. bound — tied together
  15. ball — a dance
  16. bound — obliged
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. mug — a cup
  19. bear — the animal
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bat — the animal
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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