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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. fine — all right
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. dip — to sink
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. chest — of your body
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. fine — high quality
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. cell — a phone
  13. chip — for betting
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. chip — to eat
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. chest — a box
  24. cell — in biology

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