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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: spell · content · field · rash · sharp · arm · trunk · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. field — farmland
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. field — a subject
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. field — for sport
  11. rash — a series
  12. spell — letters
  13. content — happy
  14. rash — hasty
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. spell — a short time
  17. content — the amount
  18. last — final
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. sharp — clever
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. spell — magic
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. arm — part of the body

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