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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. can — a tin
  4. chest — a box
  5. swing — to play on
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. field — farmland
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. field — for sport
  12. chest — of your body
  13. field — a subject
  14. can — a tin
  15. sharp — clever
  16. cell — a phone
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. swing — in golf
  20. chest — of your body
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. can — to be able to
  24. swing — music

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