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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. field — a subject
  4. bear — the animal
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. hand — help
  9. rush — hurry
  10. field — farmland
  11. row — a line
  12. hand — in cards
  13. row — to paddle
  14. mark — a grade
  15. bear — the animal
  16. foot — a measure
  17. field — for sport
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. ground — the earth
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. ground — crushed
  23. mark — a trace
  24. foot — the bottom

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