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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: last · foot · ball · file · ground · wound · stock · nail

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  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. foot — a measure
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. last — finally
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. last — to go on
  9. stock — shares
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. file — a tool
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. file — a document
  14. wound — an injury
  15. last — final
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ground — a position
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. ball — a dance
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. wound — an injury
  23. ball — a great time
  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