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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 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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. band — a ring
  3. file — a document
  4. pit — a hole
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — for catching
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. ground — a position
  9. deal — to handle
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. saw — the tool
  14. band — a music group
  15. file — a line of people
  16. pit — in a race
  17. ground — the earth
  18. net — after costs
  19. file — a tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. ground — crushed
  24. band — a rubber band

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