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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. sharp — clever
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. wake — a trail
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. scale — size or range
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. clip — to cut
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. root — the cause
  18. lie — to recline
  19. deal — to handle
  20. root — of a word
  21. scale — in music
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. pitch — completely
  24. root — of a plant

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