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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: arm · lash · game · bound · file · field · wind · branch

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. field — farmland
  3. file — a document
  4. branch — a division
  5. bound — obliged
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bound — tied together
  9. file — a tool
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. field — for sport
  13. bound — certain
  14. field — a subject
  15. wind — moving air
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. wind — moving air
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. game — a match
  22. file — a line of people
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. wind — to turn a key

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