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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: prune · deal · staff · field · bay · tear · kick · saw

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. staff — a stick
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. kick — in football
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. saw — the tool
  11. staff — employees
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. staff — employees
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. field — for sport
  18. tear — to rip
  19. prune — to trim
  20. field — a subject
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. deal — to handle
  23. saw — the tool
  24. field — farmland

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