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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. saw — the tool
  3. wind — moving air
  4. field — a subject
  5. ball — a dance
  6. field — farmland
  7. chest — of your body
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. wind — moving air
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. ball — a great time
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. shower — to wash
  15. field — for sport
  16. chest — of your body
  17. shower — rain
  18. saw — the tool
  19. foot — a measure
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. lie — to recline
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. chest — a box
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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