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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. cold — an illness
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. branch — a division
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. pound — a weight
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. bear — the animal
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pound — to hit hard

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