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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 have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. tube — the underground
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. last — finally
  5. tube — a container
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wind — moving air
  8. chest — of your body
  9. foot — a measure
  10. stock — shares
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. chest — a box
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — goods
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. last — final
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rash — hasty
  19. last — to go on
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. rash — a series
  24. bat — the animal

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