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

Word bank: ground · tear · bulb · snap · chip · march · present · deal

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. present — the time now
  3. present — there
  4. ground — crushed
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. march — music
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. ground — the earth
  10. present — a gift
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. chip — for betting
  13. snap — to click
  14. ground — a position
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. march — the month
  17. chip — to eat
  18. bulb — for light
  19. tear — to rip
  20. march — the month
  21. deal — to handle
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. bulb — for light

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