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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. mark — a trace
  4. hand — help
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. foot — a measure
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. fall — the season
  9. field — for sport
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. fall — to drop
  12. firm — decided
  13. fall — to drop
  14. firm — steady
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. firm — a company
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — a subject
  20. mark — a grade
  21. bat — the animal
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — in cards

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