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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. present — a gift
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. bat — the animal
  8. deal — to handle
  9. toast — bread
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. rock — a stone
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — for sport
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. chest — of your body
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. present — the time now
  20. field — a subject
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. kid — child
  24. rock — music

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