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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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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. branch — a division
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — for sport
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. roll — a cake
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. rash — a series
  14. wake — a trail
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. roll — a list
  21. deal — to handle
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. rash — hasty
  24. field — farmland

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