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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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468
Word bank
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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. file — a line of people
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. kick — in football
  9. cold — an illness
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. saw — the tool
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. swing — music
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. pit — a hole
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. pit — in a race
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — to play on
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a document
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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