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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. object — to protest
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. clip — for paper
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. cold — not warm
  9. club — a group
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. object — a thing
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. club — for golf
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. cold — an illness
  16. object — an aim
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. clip — a video
  20. branch — a division
  21. club — for dancing
  22. deal — to handle
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. clip — to cut

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