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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. branch — a division
  3. field — a subject
  4. net — for catching
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. field — for sport
  7. staff — a stick
  8. spell — letters
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. field — farmland
  13. staff — employees
  14. court — of a king
  15. spell — a short time
  16. court — for sport
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. staff — employees
  19. court — of law
  20. mine — for digging
  21. dip — to sink
  22. net — in sport
  23. spell — magic
  24. branch — of a tree

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