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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. key — the most important part
  3. rash — a series
  4. field — a subject
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. capital — a city
  7. pit — a hole
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. key — for a lock
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. field — farmland
  13. key — in music
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. wound — an injury
  19. capital — money
  20. wound — an injury
  21. field — for sport
  22. rash — hasty
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. pit — in a race

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