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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. file — a line of people
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. field — for sport
  5. file — a tool
  6. land — a country
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. land — ground
  10. mug — a face
  11. mug — a cup
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — farmland
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. mug — to rob
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. file — a document
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. land — to come down

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