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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. cell — in biology
  3. deal — to handle
  4. saw — the tool
  5. clip — to cut
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a tool
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. row — a line
  12. bulb — for light
  13. file — a line of people
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. clip — a video
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. saw — the tool
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. bulb — for light
  24. row — a quarrel

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