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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. mine — for digging
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. chest — of your body
  5. saw — the tool
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. stem — to come from
  8. pitch — completely
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. vault — a safe
  12. deal — to handle
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. chest — a box
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. chest — of your body
  20. saw — the tool
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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