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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. field — for sport
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. pit — in a race
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cap — of ice
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — a lid
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. pit — a hole
  16. field — a subject
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. saw — the tool
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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