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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. branch — a division
  3. mate — a friend
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. track — a path
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. perch — the fish
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. field — a subject
  10. track — a song
  11. bat — the animal
  12. mate — a partner
  13. field — for sport
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — happy
  16. field — farmland
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. track — to keep track
  23. mate — to breed
  24. perch — for a bird

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