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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bear — the animal
  4. shower — rain
  5. march — the month
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — employees
  10. foot — a measure
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. last — finally
  14. march — music
  15. bear — the animal
  16. staff — a stick
  17. bat — the animal
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. march — the month
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — in golf
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. swing — to play on

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