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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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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: net · arm · field · mug · hand · wake · leaves · deal

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. deal — to handle
  6. field — farmland
  7. mug — to rob
  8. mug — a face
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. net — in sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. net — for catching
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. mug — a cup
  19. hand — in cards
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. net — after costs
  22. field — for sport
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. wake — a trail

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