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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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. rest — a break
  3. rest — what's left
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. fall — the season
  6. shower — rain
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. land — a country
  11. clip — for paper
  12. land — ground
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. fall — to drop
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fall — to drop
  18. clip — a video
  19. sharp — clever
  20. land — to come down
  21. rest — what's left
  22. date — the fruit
  23. shower — to wash
  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