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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 120 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: mine · straw · cell · object · racket · arm · field · rash

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. field — farmland
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. cell — in biology
  7. rash — a series
  8. object — to protest
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. rash — hasty
  14. object — a thing
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. field — for sport
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. cell — a phone
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. field — a subject
  22. object — an aim
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. straw — a straw man

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