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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. march — the month
  3. hand — in cards
  4. ground — a position
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. march — music
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. dip — to sink
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — crushed
  15. foot — a measure
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. roll — a list
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  24. march — the month

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