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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. deal — to handle
  3. field — for sport
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. foot — a measure
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wind — moving air
  8. field — farmland
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. field — a subject
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. tear — to rip
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. foot — the bottom

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