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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. pop — to visit
  3. band — a music group
  4. field — a subject
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. band — a ring
  10. shower — rain
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — soda
  13. shower — to wash
  14. season — in sport
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. field — for sport
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. stem — to come from
  19. branch — a division
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. season — of the year
  22. field — farmland
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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