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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. deal — to handle
  6. bass — low music
  7. mine — for digging
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bound — obliged
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bound — certain
  15. bound — tied together
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. prune — to trim
  23. branch — a division
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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