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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. cell — in biology
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. object — an aim
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. mug — a cup
  11. chest — of your body
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. object — to protest
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. mug — a face
  17. spell — a short time
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. object — a thing
  20. cell — a phone
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. spell — magic
  23. mug — to rob
  24. field — farmland

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