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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 120 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. present — there
  3. branch — a division
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. snap — to click
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. present — a gift
  10. field — farmland
  11. foot — a measure
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. content — the amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. field — for sport
  17. content — happy
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. degree — temperature
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. degree — an amount
  24. field — a subject

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