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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: bark · deal · tear · can · file · scale · hand · toast

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. toast — bread
  3. tear — from crying
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. can — a tin
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. can — a tin
  8. can — to be able to
  9. file — a line of people
  10. hand — help
  11. deal — to handle
  12. file — a document
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. hand — in cards
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — to shout
  21. file — a tool
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — in music

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