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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. stand — to bear
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — crushed
  7. chest — of your body
  8. drill — army training
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. track — a path
  11. mark — a grade
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. drill — a practice
  15. root — of a word
  16. track — to keep track
  17. chest — a box
  18. root — of a plant
  19. track — a song
  20. mark — a trace
  21. root — the cause
  22. foot — a measure
  23. drill — the tool
  24. ground — the earth

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