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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bass — low music
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. court — of a king
  5. club — for golf
  6. field — farmland
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. branch — a division
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. bass — the fish
  11. mine — for digging
  12. toast — bread
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. club — for dancing
  15. field — a subject
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. court — for sport
  18. club — a group
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. court — of law
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. field — for sport

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