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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. prune — to trim
  4. deal — to handle
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. game — a match
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. prune — to trim
  10. game — wild animals
  11. field — a subject
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — for sport
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. tear — to rip
  18. prune — the fruit

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