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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. field — for sport
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. field — farmland
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. hand — in cards
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. deal — to handle
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. field — a subject
  18. foot — a measure
  19. hand — help
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — a phone
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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