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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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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 · tear · snap · firm · pound · court · spring · chip

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. firm — decided
  3. deal — to handle
  4. tear — from crying
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. pound — a weight
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. court — for sport
  9. spring — a coil
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. court — of law
  17. snap — to click
  18. firm — steady
  19. court — of a king
  20. chip — for betting
  21. firm — a company
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. chip — to eat

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