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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 116 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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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. stick — a piece of wood
  4. drill — a practice
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. stock — goods
  8. perch — the fish
  9. drill — army training
  10. scale — in music
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. scale — size or range
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cell — in biology
  16. stock — shares
  17. wax — to grow
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. drill — the tool
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. deal — to handle

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