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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  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. net — for catching
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bulb — for light
  5. cap — a hat
  6. date — the fruit
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a lid
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. net — in sport
  12. file — a line of people
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bulb — for light
  15. file — a document
  16. bank — of a river
  17. deal — to handle
  18. bank — for money
  19. file — a tool
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bank — for money
  22. wound — an injury
  23. net — after costs
  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