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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. field — a subject
  4. drill — a practice
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. field — farmland
  11. rush — hurry
  12. cap — a hat
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. drill — army training
  15. cap — a lid
  16. drill — the tool
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. fall — to drop
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. cap — of ice
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. pitch — completely
  24. field — for sport

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