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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. vault — a safe
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. net — in sport
  12. foot — a measure
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. net — after costs
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. net — for catching
  17. march — music
  18. cold — an illness
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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