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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. land — ground
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. land — a country
  7. hand — in cards
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. land — to come down
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. craft — boats
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. hand — help
  15. wake — a trail
  16. rest — what's left
  17. last — finally
  18. rest — what's left
  19. last — to go on
  20. mine — for digging
  21. rest — a break
  22. craft — a skill
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. last — final

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