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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bulb — for light
  5. kid — to tease
  6. wind — moving air
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. row — a line
  9. kid — child
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bulb — for light
  17. deal — to handle
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. stand — to bear
  20. bark — to shout
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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