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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: file · rash · chest · kid · bass · foot · content · field

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. file — a line of people
  3. rash — hasty
  4. chest — of your body
  5. file — a tool
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bass — the fish
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. field — farmland
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bass — low music
  13. field — for sport
  14. file — a document
  15. chest — a box
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. kid — to tease
  18. field — a subject
  19. kid — child
  20. foot — a measure
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. content — happy
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. content — the amount

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