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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. rest — what's left
  3. field — for sport
  4. hand — help
  5. field — a subject
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. field — farmland
  11. chair — a leader
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. hand — in cards
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. rest — what's left
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. rest — a break
  20. clip — a video
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. clip — to cut
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. clip — for paper

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