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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. season — of the year
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bark — to shout
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — to tease
  7. season — in sport
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. march — the month
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. deal — to handle
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. kid — child
  17. march — music
  18. chest — of your body
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. march — the month
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. bark — of a tree

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