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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. last — final
  4. pop — soda
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. field — farmland
  8. stand — to bear
  9. last — to go on
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pop — to visit
  12. clip — for paper
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. chest — a box
  15. clip — to cut
  16. last — finally
  17. field — for sport
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. chest — of your body
  20. field — a subject
  21. pop — music
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. deal — to handle
  24. clip — a video

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