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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. roll — a cake
  4. game — a match
  5. present — there
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — to wash
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. present — a gift
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. spring — of water
  16. present — the time now
  17. march — the month
  18. game — wild animals
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. spring — the season
  22. toast — bread
  23. spring — a coil
  24. roll — a list

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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