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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. cold — not warm
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. cold — an illness
  5. ground — crushed
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chip — to eat
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. key — the most important part
  12. hand — help
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. ground — the earth
  15. chip — for betting
  16. key — in music
  17. foot — a measure
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. ground — a position
  21. key — for a lock
  22. stem — to come from
  23. hand — in cards
  24. cold — the Cold War

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