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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. land — to come down
  4. swing — in golf
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. race — humankind
  7. present — a gift
  8. race — the arms race
  9. swing — music
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. race — a contest
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. spring — the season
  16. present — there
  17. swing — to play on
  18. spring — of water
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. present — the time now
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. land — ground
  23. spring — a coil
  24. land — a country

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