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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. fall — to drop
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. game — a match
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. fall — to drop
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — in music
  11. fall — the season
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — the underground
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. date — the fruit
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. game — wild animals
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. tube — a container
  24. drill — a practice

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