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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: foot · mark · kid · deal · present · spell · spring · cold

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. mark — a trace
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. spell — a short time
  9. kid — child
  10. present — there
  11. spell — letters
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. cold — an illness
  14. spell — magic
  15. spring — the season
  16. deal — to handle
  17. present — a gift
  18. foot — a measure
  19. kid — to tease
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. spring — a coil
  23. present — the time now
  24. spring — of water

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