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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 116 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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. tear — from crying
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. land — to come down
  6. tear — from crying
  7. kid — child
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. tear — to rip
  11. land — a country
  12. ground — a position
  13. face — to confront
  14. face — part of the head
  15. fine — all right
  16. kid — to tease
  17. ground — crushed
  18. land — ground
  19. row — a line
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. face — to point toward
  23. ground — the earth
  24. row — to paddle

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