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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: foot · bass · cell · bay · content · staff · field · arm

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bass — the fish
  3. staff — a stick
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. staff — employees
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. staff — employees
  10. content — the amount
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. field — for sport
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. field — farmland
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. cell — a phone
  20. foot — a measure
  21. bass — low music
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. field — a subject

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