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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: pit · saw · straw · clip · fan · deal · degree · rest

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — a video
  9. deal — to handle
  10. rest — what's left
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. rest — a break
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. degree — from a university
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pit — a hole
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. saw — the tool
  20. pit — in a race
  21. clip — for paper
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rest — what's left
  24. saw — the tool

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