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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. march — the month
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. march — music
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. scale — in music
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. bat — the animal
  11. march — the month
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. scale — size or range
  20. fork — in a road
  21. kid — child
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. foot — the bottom

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