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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. sharp — clever
  4. firm — steady
  5. firm — a company
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bat — the animal
  8. degree — an amount
  9. spring — the season
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. game — wild animals
  12. firm — decided
  13. foot — a measure
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bear — the animal
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. game — a match
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. spring — of water
  24. degree — temperature

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