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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  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. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — to wash
  4. march — the month
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. ground — crushed
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. march — the month
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. ground — the earth
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. shower — rain
  15. march — music
  16. stock — goods
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. stock — shares
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. sharp — clever
  23. ground — a position
  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