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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 120 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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. lie — to recline
  3. game — a match
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. ground — the earth
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. content — happy
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. game — wild animals
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. file — a document
  17. foot — a measure
  18. ground — a position
  19. content — the amount
  20. wake — a trail
  21. field — a subject
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — an untruth
  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