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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. face — to point toward
  5. kid — child
  6. field — for sport
  7. face — part of the head
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. wind — moving air
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. kid — to tease
  13. deal — to handle
  14. snap — to click
  15. face — to confront
  16. game — wild animals
  17. field — a subject
  18. bear — the animal
  19. game — a match
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. wind — moving air
  23. field — farmland
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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