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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: date · arm · face · field · squash · fine · trunk · rush

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. fine — high quality
  3. face — to confront
  4. rush — hurry
  5. date — the fruit
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. face — part of the head
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. face — to point toward
  10. field — farmland
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. fine — all right
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the sport
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. field — for sport
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. rush — to hurry

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