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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. foot — a measure
  3. track — a path
  4. race — the arms race
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. track — to keep track
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. chip — to eat
  14. ground — the earth
  15. rash — a series
  16. ground — a position
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ground — crushed
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. rash — hasty
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. bat — the animal
  24. chip — for betting

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