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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 120 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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. object — an aim
  3. season — in sport
  4. cold — an illness
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. root — of a word
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. root — the cause
  11. season — of the year
  12. cold — not warm
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. object — to protest
  16. root — of a plant
  17. kick — in football
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. deal — to handle
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. foot — a measure
  23. bat — the animal
  24. object — a thing

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