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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.

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: arm · ball · land · rash · field · racket · hand · fork

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. ball — a great time
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. land — ground
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. rash — a series
  8. field — a subject
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. field — for sport
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. rash — hasty
  18. ball — a dance
  19. field — farmland
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. fork — in a road
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. hand — in cards

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