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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. ground — a position
  4. shower — rain
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. foot — a measure
  12. bore — to drill
  13. ground — the earth
  14. club — a group
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bore — to tire
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. game — a match
  19. chest — of your body
  20. game — wild animals
  21. ground — crushed
  22. shower — to wash
  23. club — for dancing
  24. club — for golf

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