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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. field — a subject
  3. branch — a division
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bound — certain
  6. track — a song
  7. key — in music
  8. key — for a lock
  9. bound — tied together
  10. track — to keep track
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. field — farmland
  13. bound — obliged
  14. track — a path
  15. game — wild animals
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. fall — the season
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. field — for sport
  23. key — the most important part
  24. branch — of a bank

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