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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 124 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: season · field · deal · sharp · lean · bat

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. deal — to handle
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — of the year
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. field — farmland
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. field — a subject
  12. bat — the animal
  13. field — for sport
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to bend
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. season — in sport

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