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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: fall · clip · arm · chair · ruler · field · rock · date

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — a subject
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. fall — to drop
  5. rock — a stone
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. fall — the season
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. clip — a video
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. fall — to drop
  14. rock — music
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. clip — to cut
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. chair — a leader
  20. clip — for paper
  21. field — for sport
  22. date — the fruit
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. chair — to sit on

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