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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: race · deal · fork · net · pass · lean · pop · game

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. lean — thin
  3. pop — to visit
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. net — in sport
  6. deal — to handle
  7. game — a match
  8. race — humankind
  9. lean — to bend
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. race — a contest
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. net — for catching
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pop — music
  20. fork — in a road
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. race — the arms race
  23. net — after costs
  24. pop — soda

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