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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bank — of a river
  4. last — final
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. march — music
  8. bank — for money
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — finally
  11. ground — the earth
  12. chair — a leader
  13. march — the month
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. march — the month
  17. bank — for money
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. deal — to handle
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — a position
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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