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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. swing — in golf
  4. firm — steady
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bear — the animal
  8. firm — decided
  9. capital — money
  10. rash — hasty
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. rash — a series
  13. swing — music
  14. field — a subject
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. capital — a city
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. swing — to play on
  20. firm — a company
  21. branch — a division
  22. field — farmland
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. bear — the animal

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