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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. tube — the underground
  3. field — a subject
  4. tube — a container
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a document
  10. lean — thin
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. field — farmland
  13. squash — to crush
  14. branch — a division
  15. file — a line of people
  16. mine — for digging
  17. squash — the sport
  18. field — for sport
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. spell — magic
  22. lean — to bend
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — letters

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