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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: shower · kick · rest · field · deal · bear

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. deal — to handle
  5. rest — what's left
  6. field — farmland
  7. rest — a break
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. field — for sport
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. bear — the animal
  12. shower — rain
  13. kick — in football
  14. field — a subject
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. rest — what's left

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