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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: bat · race · mark · tear · foot · deal

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. race — a contest
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. foot — a measure
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. race — the arms race
  13. deal — to handle
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mark — a trace
  16. mark — a grade
  17. tear — from crying
  18. race — humankind

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