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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  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. deal — to handle
  3. bank — for money
  4. clip — for paper
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. fall — the season
  7. prune — to trim
  8. clip — a video
  9. bank — of a river
  10. clip — to cut
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. fall — to drop
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. fall — to drop
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bank — for money
  20. shower — to wash
  21. content — happy
  22. content — the amount
  23. shower — rain
  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