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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. club — a group
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. rest — a break
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. cold — not warm
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. field — a subject
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. rest — what's left
  12. clip — to cut
  13. field — farmland
  14. cold — an illness
  15. field — for sport
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. club — for golf
  22. rest — what's left
  23. clip — a video
  24. club — for dancing

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