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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. bound — certain
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bound — obliged
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. clip — to cut
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bound — tied together
  13. branch — a division
  14. clip — a video
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. march — the month
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. row — a line
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitch — completely
  24. deal — a big deal

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