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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. ground — the earth
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. face — to confront
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. ground — a position
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. race — a contest
  9. file — a tool
  10. face — part of the head
  11. foot — a measure
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — the arms race
  16. file — a line of people
  17. face — to point toward
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. file — a document
  20. pound — a weight
  21. perch — the fish
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. ground — crushed

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