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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. mine — for digging
  3. pass — a permit
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. field — a subject
  6. rest — what's left
  7. file — a line of people
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. field — for sport
  12. file — a tool
  13. bound — certain
  14. rest — what's left
  15. field — farmland
  16. bound — obliged
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. bound — tied together
  19. foot — a measure
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. file — a document
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. rest — a break

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