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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 120 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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. field — a subject
  5. hand — help
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rash — a series
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. field — for sport
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bulb — for light
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. tear — to rip
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. kick — in football
  18. field — farmland
  19. tear — from crying
  20. deal — to handle
  21. bulb — for light
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. rash — hasty
  24. wound — an injury

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