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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. clip — to cut
  3. hand — help
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. file — a document
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. hand — in cards
  14. file — a line of people
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. deal — to handle
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. stock — goods
  20. clip — a video
  21. stock — shares
  22. file — a tool
  23. date — the fruit
  24. clip — for paper

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