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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 124 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. fork — in a road
  4. last — finally
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. file — a line of people
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. deal — to handle
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a tool
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. prune — to trim
  17. last — final
  18. game — wild animals
  19. last — to go on
  20. game — a match
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to click
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. fork — to eat with

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