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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. cell — a phone
  4. content — happy
  5. plane — a tool
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. file — a tool
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. deal — to handle
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. file — a line of people
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. content — the amount
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. pass — a permit
  19. branch — a division
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. perch — the fish
  23. file — a document
  24. cell — in biology

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