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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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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: ground · ruler · hand · rest · foot · pitcher · wind · net

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rest — a break
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — after costs
  7. ground — the earth
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. net — for catching
  10. rest — what's left
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rest — what's left
  16. foot — a measure
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. ground — a position
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ground — crushed
  22. hand — help
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. pitcher — a jug

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