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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. ground — the earth
  4. file — a document
  5. ground — a position
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bear — the animal
  10. ground — crushed
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the fish
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. fork — in a road
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bear — the animal
  20. file — a line of people
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. file — a tool
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — in cards

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