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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. club — for golf
  3. foot — a measure
  4. last — finally
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. file — a document
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. scale — in music
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. club — a group
  12. field — farmland
  13. last — to go on
  14. file — a tool
  15. bat — the animal
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. scale — size or range
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. club — for dancing
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. last — final
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — for sport

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