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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: arm · wake · roll · rush · bass · chair · field · mine

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. roll — a cake
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a leader
  5. wake — a trail
  6. field — for sport
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. bass — the fish
  9. roll — a list
  10. field — a subject
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. bass — low music
  14. mine — for digging
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. rush — hurry
  22. field — farmland
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. wake — before a funeral

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