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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. fall — the season
  3. rash — a series
  4. fall — to drop
  5. field — a subject
  6. spell — a short time
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. fall — to drop
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. spell — letters
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — part of the head
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. spell — magic
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — clever
  20. rash — hasty
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. deal — to handle
  24. face — to confront

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