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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. field — a subject
  4. chest — of your body
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. degree — temperature
  7. chest — of your body
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. field — for sport
  10. ground — the earth
  11. degree — an amount
  12. ground — crushed
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. ground — a position
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pit — in a race
  18. deal — to handle
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. chest — a box
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. degree — from a university
  23. field — farmland
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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