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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 120 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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. hand — help
  3. field — for sport
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. root — of a word
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. kid — child
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. foot — a measure
  12. kid — to tease
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. rest — what's left
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. field — farmland
  17. hand — in cards
  18. rest — a break
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — the cause
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. field — a subject

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