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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. cap — a hat
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. chair — a leader
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. stock — shares
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. cap — a lid
  11. field — farmland
  12. snap — to click
  13. bat — the animal
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. field — for sport
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. stock — goods
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. cap — of ice
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. field — a subject

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