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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. mine — for digging
  3. dip — to sink
  4. club — for dancing
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. club — a group
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. club — for golf
  11. fork — in a road
  12. pitch — completely
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. kid — child
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. shower — to wash
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. shower — rain

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