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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. net — after costs
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — crushed
  5. pop — soda
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. ground — a position
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pop — to visit
  10. foot — a measure
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. net — for catching
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. net — in sport
  17. rock — music
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. pop — music
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a tool

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