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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. clip — for paper
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — wild animals
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. clip — to cut
  10. branch — a division
  11. clip — a video
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. deal — to handle
  18. game — a match

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