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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. fine — all right
  3. march — the month
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. spring — of water
  6. cue — for pool
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. spring — the season
  10. ground — a position
  11. bat — the animal
  12. march — music
  13. cue — a signal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cue — a hint
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. foot — a measure
  18. march — the month
  19. ground — crushed
  20. row — a line
  21. row — to paddle
  22. spring — a coil
  23. fine — high quality
  24. ground — the earth

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