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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mate — a friend
  4. last — finally
  5. chest — a box
  6. game — wild animals
  7. last — final
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. mate — to breed
  10. foot — a measure
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. game — a match
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. mate — a partner
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — the most important part
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. key — in music
  20. last — to go on
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wake — a trail
  24. chest — of your body

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