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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. field — farmland
  4. cell — a phone
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. hand — in cards
  8. rash — a series
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. field — for sport
  11. vault — a safe
  12. bark — to shout
  13. dip — to sink
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. cell — in biology
  20. rash — hasty
  21. field — a subject
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — help

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