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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mark — a grade
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. cold — not warm
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. hand — in cards
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. hand — help
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. track — a path
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. track — to keep track
  15. cold — an illness
  16. club — for dancing
  17. club — for golf
  18. roll — a cake
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. roll — a list
  21. track — a song
  22. club — a group
  23. mark — a trace
  24. cold — the Cold War

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