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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. field — a subject
  3. ground — a position
  4. field — for sport
  5. kick — in football
  6. prune — to trim
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. ground — crushed
  9. court — of a king
  10. field — farmland
  11. court — of law
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. ground — the earth
  15. prune — to trim
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. court — for sport
  18. arm — a part of something

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