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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 have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  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. foot — part of the body
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. rest — what's left
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. row — to paddle
  9. file — a tool
  10. craft — boats
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. capital — a city
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. row — a line
  18. capital — money
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. rest — a break
  21. file — a document
  22. craft — a skill
  23. file — a line of people
  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