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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. key — for a lock
  3. key — in music
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. stand — to bear
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. cell — a phone
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. key — the most important part
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. file — a document
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. file — a tool
  19. bass — low music
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. bark — to shout
  22. file — a line of people
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. deal — to handle

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