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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. field — for sport
  5. mark — a trace
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. net — in sport
  10. squash — the sport
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — for catching
  14. mark — a grade
  15. pass — a permit
  16. branch — a division
  17. scale — size or range
  18. field — farmland
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. squash — to crush
  22. scale — in music
  23. kick — in football
  24. field — a subject

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