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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. shower — rain
  3. chest — a box
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. stock — shares
  9. file — a tool
  10. foot — a measure
  11. shower — to wash
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a document
  14. chest — of your body
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. stock — goods
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. chest — of your body

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