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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. face — to confront
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. field — farmland
  8. tear — from crying
  9. face — to point toward
  10. field — a subject
  11. shower — to wash
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. shower — rain
  15. face — part of the head
  16. current — happening now
  17. game — a match
  18. current — electric
  19. deal — to handle
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. current — of water
  23. field — for sport
  24. wind — moving air

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