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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. toast — bread
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. swing — in golf
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. game — wild animals
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. deal — to handle
  12. swing — to play on
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. wound — an injury
  15. swing — music
  16. pass — a permit
  17. game — a match
  18. wound — an injury
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — help
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. foot — the bottom

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