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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. date — the fruit
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. field — farmland
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. wound — an injury
  9. dip — to sink
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. wound — an injury
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. cell — in biology
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. content — the amount
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. cell — a phone
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. field — a subject
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. content — happy

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