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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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. spring — the season
  4. hand — help
  5. branch — a division
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. net — in sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — a coil
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. field — for sport
  13. rule — a law
  14. hand — in cards
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. rule — government
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. net — after costs
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. field — farmland
  24. pitch — completely

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