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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. spring — a coil
  3. field — farmland
  4. spring — of water
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — a position
  7. spring — the season
  8. cap — of ice
  9. saw — the tool
  10. field — for sport
  11. saw — the tool
  12. net — for catching
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. net — after costs
  16. deal — to handle
  17. field — a subject
  18. cap — a lid
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. ground — crushed
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. net — in sport
  24. cap — a hat

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