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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. cue — for pool
  3. race — a contest
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pound — a weight
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. cue — a signal
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. content — happy
  17. race — humankind
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. content — the amount
  21. race — the arms race
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. cue — a hint
  24. fan — a supporter

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