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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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Word bank
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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 · pop · wave · cap · ground · field · hand

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pop — soda
  3. field — a subject
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. field — for sport
  6. cap — a lid
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. field — farmland
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. pop — music
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — crushed
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. season — of the year
  15. hand — help
  16. deal — to handle
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. hand — in cards
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. ground — a position
  21. season — in sport
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cap — a hat

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