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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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 — farmland
  3. squash — to crush
  4. drill — the tool
  5. field — for sport
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. wind — moving air
  8. field — a subject
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — in sport
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. drill — a practice
  13. squash — the sport
  14. spell — a short time
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. wind — moving air
  18. drill — army training
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. spell — letters
  21. net — after costs
  22. spell — magic
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. arm — part of the body

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