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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · hand · chair · wound · arm · bound · track · chest

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. track — a path
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chest — a box
  9. field — a subject
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. track — to keep track
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. track — a song
  14. chair — a leader
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bound — certain
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. bound — tied together
  20. field — for sport
  21. hand — help
  22. bound — obliged
  23. chest — of your body
  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