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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. club — a group
  3. clip — to cut
  4. chest — of your body
  5. can — to be able to
  6. track — a path
  7. can — a tin
  8. chest — a box
  9. tear — from crying
  10. clip — for paper
  11. track — a song
  12. clip — a video
  13. mine — for digging
  14. club — for golf
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. chest — of your body
  17. club — for dancing
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. track — to keep track
  22. can — a tin
  23. deal — to handle
  24. deal — an agreement

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