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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. field — a subject
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. mate — a partner
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. land — to come down
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. club — for dancing
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. mate — a friend
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. mate — to breed
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. club — a group
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. land — a country
  21. club — for golf
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. land — ground

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