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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mug — a face
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. squash — to crush
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. field — farmland
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. chest — a box
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. bat — the animal
  13. chest — of your body
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — the sport
  16. kick — in football
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. mug — to rob
  19. deal — to handle
  20. field — a subject
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. field — for sport
  24. mug — a cup

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