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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. root — the cause
  7. wound — an injury
  8. deal — to handle
  9. field — farmland
  10. rule — government
  11. wound — an injury
  12. chest — a box
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. root — of a word
  15. saw — the tool
  16. field — for sport
  17. root — of a plant
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rule — a law
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. field — a subject
  24. deal — a big deal

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