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

Word bank: foot · bear · race · arm · net · wind · wound · field

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. foot — a measure
  4. race — a contest
  5. bear — the animal
  6. wound — an injury
  7. net — in sport
  8. field — for sport
  9. net — after costs
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bear — the animal
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. race — the arms race
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. net — for catching
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wound — an injury
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. field — farmland
  22. race — humankind
  23. field — a subject
  24. wind — moving air

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