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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  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. mine — an explosive
  2. deal — to handle
  3. clip — for paper
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fine — all right
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. field — farmland
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. bear — the animal
  13. ball — a dance
  14. bear — the animal
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. ball — a great time
  17. mine — for digging
  18. field — for sport
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. clip — to cut
  21. field — a subject
  22. clip — a video
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. deal — a big deal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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