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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. foot — a measure
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. tube — a container
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. root — of a plant
  7. chip — for betting
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. root — the cause
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. hand — help
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. file — a tool
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. file — a line of people
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. root — of a word
  22. chip — to eat
  23. tube — the underground
  24. file — a document

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