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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. pop — music
  3. spell — magic
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pit — a hole
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chip — to eat
  9. deal — to handle
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — letters
  13. chip — for betting
  14. pop — soda
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — to come from
  17. file — a tool
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — a division
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. file — a document
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. pop — to visit
  24. file — a line of people

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