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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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. temple — a place of worship
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. ground — a position
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. file — a tool
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. foot — a measure
  14. capital — a city
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. hand — in cards
  18. ground — the earth
  19. capital — money
  20. rash — a series
  21. wake — a trail
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. ground — crushed
  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