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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. bound — tied together
  4. march — the month
  5. field — a subject
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. march — the month
  8. file — a tool
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. tube — the underground
  11. file — a line of people
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. file — a document
  14. bound — certain
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. march — music
  17. branch — a division
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. field — farmland
  20. tube — a container
  21. stem — to come from
  22. bound — obliged
  23. field — for sport
  24. stem — of a plant

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