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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. band — a music group
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. pound — a weight
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. bat — the animal
  13. fine — all right
  14. band — a ring
  15. field — a subject
  16. fine — high quality
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. squash — to crush
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. snap — to click
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. squash — the sport

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