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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. field — a subject
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. mug — a cup
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pound — a weight
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. field — farmland
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. mug — to rob
  18. race — humankind
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — a contest
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. field — for sport

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