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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 116 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 who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. fall — to drop
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. mark — a trace
  5. hand — help
  6. deal — to handle
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. track — to keep track
  11. tear — to rip
  12. branch — a division
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. mark — a grade
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. tear — from crying
  20. hand — in cards
  21. track — a song
  22. tear — from crying
  23. track — a path
  24. branch — of a bank

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