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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. roll — a list
  4. land — a country
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. roll — a cake
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a dance
  9. toast — bread
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. land — ground
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. land — to come down
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. field — for sport
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. field — a subject
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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