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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. saw — the tool
  3. ground — the earth
  4. track — a path
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. ground — crushed
  9. tear — from crying
  10. track — a song
  11. fine — high quality
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. track — to keep track
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. cold — an illness
  20. ground — a position
  21. saw — the tool
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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