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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chest · craft · bear · fall · spring · field · arm · fan

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. craft — boats
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bear — the animal
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. field — for sport
  10. fall — the season
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. chest — a box
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fall — to drop
  20. chest — of your body
  21. craft — a skill
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. arm — part of the body

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