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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 116 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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. field — farmland
  3. tear — from crying
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. tear — from crying
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. field — for sport
  8. pop — music
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. tear — to rip
  12. cold — an illness
  13. field — a subject
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — child
  18. deal — to handle
  19. pop — soda
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — hasty
  22. pop — to visit
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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