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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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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: trunk · deal · patient · snap · fan · spell · content · bat

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. deal — to handle
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. spell — magic
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to click
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. spell — a short time
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. spell — letters
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bat — the animal
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. content — happy
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. content — the amount

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