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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 116 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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. cold — an illness
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. clip — a video
  6. rest — what's left
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. fine — high quality
  9. squash — to crush
  10. rest — a break
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. prune — to trim
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. squash — the sport
  15. clip — for paper
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. fine — all right
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rest — what's left
  21. deal — to handle
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. clip — to cut
  24. cold — not warm

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