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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 120 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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. row — a line
  5. file — a line of people
  6. rash — a series
  7. ball — a great time
  8. foot — a measure
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. file — a document
  11. sharp — clever
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. cold — not warm
  14. lie — to recline
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. row — to paddle
  21. rash — hasty
  22. ball — a dance
  23. file — a tool
  24. sharp — exactly

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