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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. toast — bread
  5. band — a ring
  6. saw — the tool
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. band — a music group
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. shower — to wash
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. saw — the tool
  21. shower — rain
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. nail — for a hammer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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