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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. pound — a weight
  6. bass — the fish
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. lean — thin
  11. band — a ring
  12. deal — to handle
  13. drill — army training
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. lean — to bend
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bass — low music
  21. drill — a practice
  22. band — a music group
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — a division

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