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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.

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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 · tube · chip · perch · bowl · kick · field · wound

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. chip — to eat
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. field — for sport
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. tube — a container
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. wound — an injury
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. tube — the underground
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. chip — for betting
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. kick — in football
  24. perch — the fish

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