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

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. chair — a leader
  3. pound — a weight
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. cell — a phone
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stem — to come from
  8. prune — to trim
  9. deal — to handle
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. file — a document
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. cell — in biology
  24. leaves — lets stay

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