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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 120 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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. shower — to wash
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. capital — money
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. cold — not warm
  7. prune — to trim
  8. branch — a division
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — for light
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. shower — rain
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. cold — an illness
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. prune — to trim
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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