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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. cold — not warm
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — to crush
  6. swing — in golf
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. swing — to play on
  12. tube — the underground
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. stock — goods
  15. saw — the tool
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. squash — the sport
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. swing — music
  20. stock — shares
  21. tube — a container
  22. cold — an illness
  23. saw — the tool
  24. foot — a measure

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