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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: kid · saw · bear · rash · spell · wound · deal · race

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. rash — hasty
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. race — a contest
  5. spell — a short time
  6. race — humankind
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — to tease
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. deal — to handle
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — magic
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. rash — a series
  19. race — the arms race
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bear — the animal
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bear — the animal

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