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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. can — to be able to
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — size or range
  8. file — a tool
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. game — wild animals
  12. can — a tin
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. file — a line of people
  15. bat — the animal
  16. perch — the fish
  17. saw — the tool
  18. can — a tin
  19. deal — to handle
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. file — a document
  22. game — a match
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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