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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: race · field · wind · toast · arm · tube · hide · perch

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. race — a contest
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. field — for sport
  6. toast — bread
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. perch — the fish
  9. field — a subject
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. wind — moving air
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. wind — moving air
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. tube — a container
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. tube — the underground
  21. field — farmland
  22. race — humankind
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. race — the arms race

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