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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. scale — in music
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. clip — for paper
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. clip — to cut
  9. deal — to handle
  10. key — in music
  11. shower — to wash
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. wind — moving air
  17. stand — to bear
  18. clip — a video
  19. hand — in cards
  20. key — for a lock
  21. shower — rain
  22. hand — help
  23. key — the most important part
  24. scale — size or range

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