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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. file — a tool
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. clip — a video
  7. file — a document
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. dip — to sink
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. file — a line of people
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. deal — to handle
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — for paper

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