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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 sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — farmland
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bass — the fish
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. squash — the sport
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bass — low music
  11. field — a subject
  12. wound — an injury
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. branch — a division
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. squash — to crush
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. game — a match
  24. wound — an injury

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