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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  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 — part of the body
  2. last — finally
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. tube — the underground
  6. last — to go on
  7. field — a subject
  8. foot — a measure
  9. tube — a container
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. land — a country
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. scale — size or range
  14. last — final
  15. field — farmland
  16. race — the arms race
  17. saw — the tool
  18. race — a contest
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. race — humankind
  22. scale — in music
  23. saw — the tool
  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