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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. fall — to drop
  4. spell — a short time
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. spell — letters
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. field — for sport
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. field — farmland
  13. spring — a coil
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spell — magic
  16. field — a subject
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — of water
  19. wound — an injury
  20. board — to get on
  21. fall — to drop
  22. deal — to handle
  23. board — a committee
  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