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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. kid — to tease
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. pass — a permit
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. deal — to handle
  7. key — in music
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. field — a subject
  10. kid — child
  11. fall — to drop
  12. key — for a lock
  13. field — for sport
  14. bat — the animal
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. shower — rain
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. key — the most important part
  22. fall — to drop
  23. shower — to wash
  24. fall — the season

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