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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: cold · deal · hand · bore · kick · cabinet · perch · stick

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. kick — in football
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. hand — help
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. perch — the fish
  12. bore — to tire
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. deal — to handle
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. bore — to drill
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cold — not warm
  24. hand — in cards

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