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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. foot — a measure
  3. hand — help
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. ground — crushed
  9. wound — an injury
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. press — a publisher
  12. vault — a safe
  13. bark — to shout
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. press — to push
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. press — newspapers
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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