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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'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. tube — the underground
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. wake — a trail
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chip — to eat
  12. tube — a container
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. cap — a hat
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. deal — to handle
  19. cold — an illness
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cap — of ice
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. cap — a lid

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