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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. band — a ring
  4. land — a country
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. sharp — clever
  9. dip — to sink
  10. land — to come down
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. fork — in a road
  14. band — a music group
  15. snap — to click
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. row — a line
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. foot — a measure
  22. row — to paddle
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. foot — part of the 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