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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. tube — a container
  5. bank — of a river
  6. tube — the underground
  7. face — part of the head
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. field — farmland
  11. game — a match
  12. bank — for money
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. face — to confront
  15. field — a subject
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. field — for sport
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. bank — for money
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. deal — to handle
  23. face — to point toward
  24. game — wild animals

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