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

Word bank: craft · fall · pop · ground · cell · present · clip · deal

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — a phone
  4. ground — a position
  5. present — a gift
  6. ground — the earth
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. fall — to drop
  9. craft — boats
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — to visit
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. pop — soda
  14. craft — a skill
  15. ground — crushed
  16. deal — to handle
  17. clip — a video
  18. present — the time now
  19. clip — for paper
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. fall — to drop
  22. present — there
  23. fall — the season
  24. clip — to cut

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