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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. swing — to play on
  4. rush — hurry
  5. field — farmland
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. track — a song
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. stem — to come from
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. track — a path
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. track — to keep track
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. swing — music
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — a division
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. swing — in golf

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