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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: land · kid · field · squash · mark · plane · arm · saw

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. field — a subject
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. kid — to tease
  5. field — for sport
  6. land — a country
  7. field — farmland
  8. squash — the sport
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. land — ground
  11. mark — a trace
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. mark — a grade
  14. squash — to crush
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. land — to come down
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. saw — the tool

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