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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. squash — to crush
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. net — after costs
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — humankind
  10. land — a country
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. squash — the sport
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. mine — for digging
  16. cap — a lid
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. land — to come down
  19. net — for catching
  20. land — ground
  21. net — in sport
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a hat
  24. race — the arms race

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