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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. chest — a box
  4. field — for sport
  5. mug — a cup
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. chest — of your body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. field — farmland
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mug — a face
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wind — moving air
  15. last — final
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bass — the fish
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bass — low music
  21. last — to go on
  22. mug — to rob
  23. field — a subject
  24. arm — a part of something

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