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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. season — in sport
  5. game — wild animals
  6. ground — crushed
  7. date — the fruit
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. ground — the earth
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. ground — a position
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. lie — to recline
  16. game — a match
  17. season — of the year
  18. foot — a measure
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. chest — a box
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. date — on the calendar

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