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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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. fan — to cool the air
  4. race — a contest
  5. field — for sport
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. race — the arms race
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. lean — to bend
  11. file — a tool
  12. lean — thin
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. race — humankind
  16. dip — to sink
  17. branch — a division
  18. ball — a dance
  19. file — a line of people
  20. ball — a great time
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. file — a document
  23. field — farmland
  24. fan — a supporter

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