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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — crushed
  8. key — in music
  9. wind — moving air
  10. key — for a lock
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. cell — a phone
  13. key — the most important part
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chair — a leader
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — a stick
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. ground — the earth
  23. cell — in biology
  24. staff — employees

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