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

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. bear — the animal
  6. wound — an injury
  7. dip — to sink
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. field — for sport
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. ball — a great time
  13. branch — a division
  14. wound — an injury
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. field — farmland
  17. bear — the animal
  18. ball — a dance

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