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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. firm — a company
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. field — a subject
  7. prune — to trim
  8. field — farmland
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. cell — a phone
  12. sharp — clever
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. firm — decided
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cell — in biology
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. firm — steady
  21. branch — a division
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — side of the head

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