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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. foot — a measure
  5. ground — a position
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fork — in a road
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. ground — crushed
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. file — a document
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. file — a tool
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. ground — the earth
  24. mine — for digging

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