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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. last — final
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. field — a subject
  7. foot — a measure
  8. last — to go on
  9. hand — help
  10. fall — the season
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. field — for sport
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. fall — to drop
  20. field — farmland
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. last — finally
  23. date — the fruit
  24. hand — in cards

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