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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. ground — crushed
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. field — a subject
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. field — for sport
  9. foot — a measure
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — to tease
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. ground — the earth
  14. field — farmland
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. kid — child
  17. scale — size or range
  18. ground — a position
  19. last — final
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. scale — in music
  24. last — to go on

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