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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. lean — thin
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. roll — a list
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. last — to go on
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. chest — of your body
  11. dip — to sink
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. wind — moving air
  14. last — final
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bore — to tire
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. lean — to bend
  20. bore — to drill
  21. roll — a cake
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. foot — a measure

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