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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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. dip — to sink
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. foot — a measure
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. field — for sport
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. ground — a position
  13. tube — the underground
  14. field — farmland
  15. ground — crushed
  16. rule — government
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. field — a subject
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. ground — the earth
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — a law

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