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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. field — for sport
  3. pop — soda
  4. snap — to click
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. foot — a measure
  8. pit — in a race
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. ground — the earth
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pop — music
  13. pit — a hole
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chair — a leader
  16. ground — crushed
  17. field — a subject
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. pop — to visit
  22. field — farmland
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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