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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 120 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. cap — a lid
  3. clip — for paper
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — the amount
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. content — happy
  10. rule — government
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. clip — a video
  13. deal — to handle
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. cap — of ice
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. cap — a hat
  20. rule — a law
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. snap — to click
  23. clip — to cut
  24. fork — in a road

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