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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. cell — in biology
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cell — a phone
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. present — the time now
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. foot — a measure
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. last — final
  14. wound — an injury
  15. last — to go on
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. present — there
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. present — a gift
  23. last — finally
  24. nail — for a hammer

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