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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. track — to keep track
  3. capital — money
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. capital — a city
  6. chest — a box
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. track — a song
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. track — a path
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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