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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 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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. fall — to drop
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. present — there
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. present — the time now
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — size or range
  12. fall — the season
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pound — a weight
  17. date — the fruit
  18. fall — to drop
  19. foot — a measure
  20. tear — to rip
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. present — a gift
  24. tear — from crying

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