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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. mug — to rob
  3. field — a subject
  4. tear — from crying
  5. lean — to bend
  6. bat — the animal
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. spring — a coil
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. tear — from crying
  12. field — farmland
  13. mug — a cup
  14. deal — to handle
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. spring — the season
  17. lean — thin
  18. mug — a face
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. spring — of water
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. tear — to rip
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. field — for sport

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