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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 chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. current — happening now
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. current — electric
  5. branch — a division
  6. field — a subject
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. scale — in music
  9. date — the fruit
  10. fall — to drop
  11. clip — for paper
  12. field — for sport
  13. clip — to cut
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. bat — the animal
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. current — of water
  18. fall — to drop
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. scale — size or range
  21. fall — the season
  22. clip — a video
  23. date — on the calendar
  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