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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. foot — a measure
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. plane — a tool
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. object — to protest
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. object — an aim
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — farmland
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. spell — a short time
  17. object — a thing
  18. spell — magic
  19. march — the month
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. field — for sport
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. foot — the bottom

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