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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. field — a subject
  4. lean — thin
  5. field — farmland
  6. lean — to bend
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. band — a ring
  9. game — a match
  10. file — a tool
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. band — a music group
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. field — for sport
  15. game — wild animals
  16. cue — for pool
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. cue — a hint
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. branch — a division
  21. cue — a signal
  22. file — a line of people
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. band — a rubber band

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