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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. ball — a dance
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. deal — to handle
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. field — a subject
  9. land — ground
  10. sharp — clever
  11. field — for sport
  12. ball — a great time
  13. field — farmland
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. land — a country
  18. land — to come down

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