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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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. stem — a stem cell
  4. deal — to handle
  5. root — of a word
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. file — a tool
  9. mate — to breed
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. stem — to come from
  12. root — the cause
  13. saw — the tool
  14. root — of a plant
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. file — a document
  18. cold — not warm
  19. saw — the tool
  20. mate — a friend
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. cold — an illness
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. mate — a partner

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