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

Word bank: foot · bay · race · cap · spell · kick · ground · mate

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. mate — a friend
  3. cap — of ice
  4. ground — a position
  5. mate — a partner
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. mate — to breed
  9. race — a contest
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. race — the arms race
  12. ground — the earth
  13. spell — a short time
  14. cap — a hat
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. spell — letters
  18. race — humankind
  19. kick — in football
  20. spell — magic
  21. cap — a lid
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. ground — crushed
  24. kick — with a leg

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