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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: root · trunk · field · file · arm · jam · foot · snap

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. snap — to click
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. field — farmland
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. root — the cause
  13. file — a tool
  14. root — of a plant
  15. file — a line of people
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. foot — a measure
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. file — a document
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. trunk — of a tree

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