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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. craft — boats
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. craft — a skill
  9. file — a tool
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. row — to paddle
  14. face — to point toward
  15. ball — a great time
  16. face — part of the head
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a document
  19. ball — a dance
  20. row — a line
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. face — to confront
  24. foot — a measure

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