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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. court — of a king
  3. net — in sport
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — farmland
  7. bound — obliged
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bound — tied together
  10. court — for sport
  11. net — for catching
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. field — for sport
  15. court — of law
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. bound — certain
  18. 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