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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 120 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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. spring — the season
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. field — for sport
  6. content — happy
  7. field — a subject
  8. spell — letters
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. cap — a lid
  11. spring — of water
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. cap — of ice
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. field — farmland
  17. spring — a coil
  18. cap — a hat
  19. spell — a short time
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. content — the amount
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. spell — magic

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