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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. mine — for digging
  5. clip — a video
  6. current — electric
  7. clip — to cut
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. snap — to click
  12. cold — an illness
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. fine — high quality
  17. fine — all right
  18. deal — to handle
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — of water
  21. cold — not warm
  22. clip — for paper
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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