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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. march — the month
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. march — music
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. file — a line of people
  8. shower — to wash
  9. march — the month
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — from a university
  13. file — a tool
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. file — a document
  19. shower — rain
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — the earth
  22. degree — an amount
  23. foot — a measure
  24. ground — a position

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