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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. field — farmland
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. can — a tin
  5. object — an aim
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — a subject
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. can — a tin
  12. chest — a box
  13. object — a thing
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. chest — of your body
  16. object — to protest
  17. content — happy
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. chest — of your body
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. rash — a series
  22. content — the amount
  23. perch — the fish
  24. can — to be able to

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