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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. march — music
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. cold — not warm
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. scale — size or range
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. scale — in music
  11. cold — an illness
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bulb — for light
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — rain
  20. foot — a measure
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bulb — for light

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