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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. board — to get on
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — a phone
  7. deal — to handle
  8. band — a music group
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. ground — the earth
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. band — a ring
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — in sport
  17. wind — moving air
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. cell — in biology
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — crushed
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. board — a committee

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