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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 120 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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. foot — a measure
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. squash — the sport
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. squash — to crush
  15. pitch — completely
  16. chest — a box
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. scale — size or range
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. scale — in music

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