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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. squash — to crush
  3. stem — to come from
  4. squash — the sport
  5. spring — a coil
  6. file — a line of people
  7. deal — to handle
  8. bass — the fish
  9. file — a document
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. file — a tool
  17. spring — the season
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. rush — hurry
  21. pound — a weight
  22. spring — of water
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. bass — low music

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