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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. ground — a position
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. field — for sport
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. ground — crushed
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. field — a subject
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. ground — the earth
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. mine — for digging
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. field — farmland
  24. mine — belonging to me

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