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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. drill — a practice
  4. rest — a break
  5. tube — the underground
  6. pop — music
  7. rest — what's left
  8. court — of law
  9. tube — a container
  10. clip — for paper
  11. drill — the tool
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. pop — to visit
  14. foot — a measure
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. drill — army training
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. pop — soda
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — for sport
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — to cut
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — with an edge

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