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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 have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  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. foot — part of the body
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. field — for sport
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. court — for sport
  6. spring — a coil
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. foot — a measure
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. drill — army training
  12. hand — in cards
  13. spring — of water
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. field — a subject
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. field — farmland
  18. spring — the season
  19. drill — a practice
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. drill — the tool
  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