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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. bear — the animal
  3. key — the most important part
  4. clip — to cut
  5. field — for sport
  6. ground — crushed
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. key — for a lock
  9. ground — the earth
  10. clip — for paper
  11. key — in music
  12. pop — music
  13. bear — the animal
  14. pop — to visit
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. ground — a position
  18. pop — soda
  19. clip — a video
  20. field — farmland
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. field — a subject
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. cabinet — ministers

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