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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. drill — the tool
  3. roll — a list
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. field — a subject
  6. rock — music
  7. field — farmland
  8. sharp — clever
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. roll — a cake
  12. shower — rain
  13. field — for sport
  14. rock — a stone
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — a practice
  20. branch — a division
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. shower — to wash
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. season — in 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