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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. chest — a box
  5. capital — money
  6. chest — of your body
  7. deal — to handle
  8. rock — music
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pop — soda
  14. rock — a stone
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. date — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pop — to visit
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. pop — music
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. prune — to trim

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