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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hide · field · capital · dip · clip · hand · deal · wave

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — farmland
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. dip — to sink
  6. hand — in cards
  7. field — a subject
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — for paper
  10. capital — a city
  11. hand — help
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. deal — to handle
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. capital — money
  22. clip — to cut
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. hide — to keep secret

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