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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 120 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 ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. deal — to handle
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. ground — a position
  5. tear — to rip
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. kid — child
  10. ball — a dance
  11. ball — a great time
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. pitch — completely
  14. tear — from crying
  15. content — the amount
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. content — happy
  18. ground — the earth
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. ground — crushed

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