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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 · field · last · rock · craft · bass · date · arm

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — finally
  4. field — a subject
  5. date — the fruit
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. rock — a stone
  8. craft — boats
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. last — final
  12. bass — the fish
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. chest — of your body
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rock — music
  18. bass — low music
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. field — for sport
  21. craft — a skill
  22. field — farmland
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. chest — a box

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