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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's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. foot — a measure
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. hand — help
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to click
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wound — an injury
  11. field — farmland
  12. deal — to handle
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wound — an injury
  16. clip — to cut
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. clip — a video
  20. field — for sport
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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