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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 120 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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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: trunk · net · race · arm · field · chair · bat · deal

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. net — for catching
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. net — in sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. bat — the animal
  7. field — for sport
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. field — farmland
  10. race — a contest
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. deal — to handle
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a leader
  21. race — the arms race
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. net — after costs

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