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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. ground — the earth
  3. foot — a measure
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. ground — a position
  10. stock — goods
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. ground — crushed
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. branch — a division
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. wound — an injury
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. wound — an injury

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