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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. field — farmland
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. field — a subject
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. field — for sport
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — a division
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. rock — music
  17. rock — a stone
  18. racket — for tennis

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