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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 120 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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. swing — to play on
  3. foot — a measure
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. swing — in golf
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. ground — crushed
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. swing — music
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. ground — a position
  18. drill — the tool
  19. cold — an illness
  20. chair — a leader
  21. pound — a weight
  22. drill — army training
  23. ground — the earth
  24. cold — not warm

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