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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. tear — from crying
  3. squash — to crush
  4. saw — the tool
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. mark — a trace
  7. snap — to click
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. scale — size or range
  10. saw — the tool
  11. deal — to handle
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. squash — the sport
  17. mark — a grade
  18. clip — for paper
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. scale — in music
  24. mark — to pay attention

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