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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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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. lean — to bend
  3. drill — a practice
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. content — happy
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. wound — an injury
  8. band — a music group
  9. lean — thin
  10. field — for sport
  11. content — the amount
  12. wound — an injury
  13. band — a ring
  14. drill — the tool
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. drill — army training
  19. field — farmland
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. band — a rubber band

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