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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: deal · season · face · wind · march · spell · craft · tear

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. march — the month
  3. spell — a short time
  4. march — music
  5. wind — moving air
  6. spell — magic
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. craft — a skill
  9. spell — letters
  10. deal — to handle
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. face — to point toward
  14. march — the month
  15. face — to confront
  16. tear — to rip
  17. face — part of the head
  18. craft — boats
  19. tear — from crying
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. season — in sport
  23. tear — from crying
  24. season — of the year

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