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

Word bank: snap · deal · mine · hide · field · bat · bay · wound

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. field — farmland
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. bat — the animal
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. wound — an injury
  16. deal — to handle
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. mine — for digging
  19. field — for sport
  20. wound — an injury
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. snap — to click
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. field — a subject

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