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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. hand — in cards
  3. tube — the underground
  4. rule — government
  5. tube — a container
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. band — a ring
  8. stand — to bear
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. band — a music group
  15. clip — for paper
  16. hand — help
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — a video
  21. rule — a law
  22. deal — to handle
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. tube — in a tire

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