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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 120 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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. scale — size or range
  4. foot — a measure
  5. field — for sport
  6. shower — to wash
  7. mine — for digging
  8. track — a path
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. field — a subject
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. hand — in cards
  14. track — to keep track
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. chip — to eat
  18. scale — in music
  19. hand — help
  20. chip — for betting
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. track — a song
  23. field — farmland
  24. mine — an explosive

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