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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. pop — soda
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. lean — to bend
  6. spring — the season
  7. file — a tool
  8. pop — to visit
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. foot — a measure
  12. file — a document
  13. bark — to shout
  14. pop — music
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. spring — of water
  18. deal — to handle
  19. lean — thin
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. spring — a coil
  23. file — a line of people
  24. cabinet — ministers

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