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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. pit — a hole
  3. field — farmland
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. field — for sport
  6. root — of a word
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. bound — obliged
  10. root — the cause
  11. rash — hasty
  12. root — of a plant
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bound — certain
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bound — tied together
  19. field — a subject
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. rash — a series
  24. pit — in a race

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