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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. foot — a measure
  3. ground — crushed
  4. suit — to fit
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. scale — in music
  8. suit — in cards
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. scale — size or range
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. ground — a position
  15. mine — for digging
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. ground — the earth
  20. tear — from crying
  21. suit — clothes
  22. rash — a series
  23. tear — to rip
  24. fork — in a road

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