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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 father caught me by the ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. field — a subject
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — for sport
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. kid — to tease
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. rush — hurry
  19. dip — to sink
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. kid — child
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. lie — to recline

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