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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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. field — farmland
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. bark — to shout
  6. hand — help
  7. field — a subject
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. kick — in football
  11. hand — in cards
  12. fall — the season
  13. march — the month
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. fall — to drop
  18. march — the month
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. foot — a measure
  21. fall — to drop
  22. march — music
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. field — for sport

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