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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. wind — moving air
  3. kid — to tease
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. ground — crushed
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mark — a grade
  10. mark — a trace
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. club — for dancing
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. ground — the earth
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. foot — a measure
  20. wind — moving air
  21. kid — child
  22. club — for golf
  23. club — a group
  24. wind — to turn a key

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