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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. last — finally
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — in football
  11. last — to go on
  12. tube — the underground
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. deal — to handle
  17. hand — help
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. tube — a container
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. field — a subject
  22. last — final
  23. ground — a position
  24. hand — in cards

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