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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 · lean · field · drill · date · fan · band · arm

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. chest — of your body
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. band — a music group
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. field — a subject
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. chest — a box
  11. date — the fruit
  12. field — farmland
  13. lean — to bend
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. drill — the tool
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. field — for sport
  20. drill — army training
  21. band — a ring
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. lean — thin
  24. chest — of your 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