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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stock — goods
  5. chest — a box
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. game — a match
  8. drill — the tool
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. suit — to fit
  12. stock — shares
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cold — not warm
  15. chest — of your body
  16. saw — the tool
  17. game — wild animals
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — a practice
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. suit — clothes
  22. suit — in cards
  23. cold — an illness
  24. game — a kind of play

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