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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: deal · chest · arm · drill · scale · ground · wave · file

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. file — a document
  3. chest — a box
  4. ground — a position
  5. drill — army training
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — the earth
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. chest — of your body
  10. scale — size or range
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. drill — the tool
  13. deal — to handle
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. drill — a practice
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. file — a tool
  22. scale — in music
  23. file — a line of people
  24. wave — with your hand

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