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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 116 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — to crush
  8. current — electric
  9. field — for sport
  10. lie — to recline
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a music group
  13. face — to point toward
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. current — happening now
  16. field — farmland
  17. squash — the sport
  18. face — to confront
  19. current — of water
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. band — a ring
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. branch — a division
  24. face — part of the head

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