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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.

Make a worksheet

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: chest · field · hand · bear · band · date · foot · squash

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. band — a music group
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. chest — a box
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bear — the animal
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. field — a subject
  11. chest — of your body
  12. band — a ring
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. bear — the animal
  16. date — the fruit
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — farmland
  19. chest — of your body
  20. squash — the sport
  21. hand — help
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. squash — to crush
  24. band — a rubber band

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