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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. field — farmland
  5. spell — letters
  6. field — a subject
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. snap — to click
  9. spell — magic
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — in cards
  13. field — for sport
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. toast — bread
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. foot — a measure
  19. capital — a city
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. spell — a short time
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. capital — money
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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