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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. chest — a box
  3. court — for sport
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. clip — for paper
  6. snap — to click
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. content — happy
  13. chest — of your body
  14. content — the amount
  15. court — of law
  16. clip — a video
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. court — of a king
  19. clip — to cut
  20. foot — a measure
  21. stand — to bear
  22. chest — of your body
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. content — videos and posts

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