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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rest — what's left
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. field — for sport
  6. chest — a box
  7. march — music
  8. rest — a break
  9. clip — a video
  10. tube — the underground
  11. rest — what's left
  12. field — a subject
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. clip — for paper
  16. chest — of your body
  17. clip — to cut
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. march — the month
  20. foot — a measure
  21. field — farmland
  22. tube — a container
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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