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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. field — a subject
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. tear — from crying
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. field — for sport
  10. wind — moving air
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. squash — the sport
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. field — farmland
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. tear — from crying
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. wind — moving air
  23. squash — to crush
  24. tear — to rip

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