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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. cap — a hat
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. hand — help
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. fine — high quality
  7. cap — a lid
  8. sharp — clever
  9. fine — all right
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. cap — of ice
  12. foot — a measure
  13. row — a line
  14. row — to paddle
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ground — crushed
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. ground — a position
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. pitcher — a jug

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