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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. bat — the animal
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. root — the cause
  7. prune — to trim
  8. press — a publisher
  9. deal — to handle
  10. wake — a trail
  11. game — wild animals
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. root — of a word
  15. prune — to trim
  16. root — of a plant
  17. game — a match
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. press — newspapers
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. press — to push

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