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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. branch — a division
  5. kid — to tease
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. net — for catching
  8. board — a committee
  9. field — for sport
  10. board — to get on
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. net — after costs
  15. mate — to breed
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. field — a subject
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. field — farmland
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — help
  23. net — in sport
  24. mate — a friend

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