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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. hand — help
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. ground — the earth
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. deal — to handle
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. ground — crushed
  13. sharp — clever
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. band — a music group
  16. bark — to shout
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. ground — a position
  23. band — a ring
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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