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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. file — a tool
  3. mark — a grade
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. file — a line of people
  8. present — a gift
  9. drill — the tool
  10. bass — low music
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. foot — a measure
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. hand — in cards
  16. file — a document
  17. present — there
  18. present — the time now
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — help
  23. mark — a trace
  24. bass — the fish

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