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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 make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. wound — an injury
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. ground — crushed
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. prune — to trim
  8. content — the amount
  9. ground — the earth
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. prune — to trim
  12. ground — a position
  13. content — happy
  14. field — for sport
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. wound — an injury
  18. field — a subject
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. field — farmland
  24. deal — to handle

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