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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 water is too ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. foot — a measure
  3. toast — bread
  4. file — a document
  5. club — for dancing
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. club — for golf
  9. file — a tool
  10. club — a group
  11. swing — music
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. swing — in golf
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. cold — an illness
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. swing — to play on
  19. fine — all right
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. fine — high quality
  24. file — a line of people

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