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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  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. branch — of a bank
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. current — happening now
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. drill — a practice
  8. current — of water
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rule — government
  13. wind — moving air
  14. current — electric
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. drill — the tool
  17. wound — an injury
  18. deal — to handle
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. rule — a law
  23. drill — army training
  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