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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. foot — a measure
  3. mine — for digging
  4. swing — music
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — the season
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. swing — in golf
  9. spell — magic
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — a contest
  12. spell — a short time
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fall — to drop
  16. spell — letters
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. swing — to play on
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. race — humankind
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. wound — an injury

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