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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. tear — from crying
  3. field — for sport
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. key — the most important part
  6. key — for a lock
  7. craft — a skill
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. tear — to rip
  11. branch — a division
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. tear — from crying
  14. key — in music
  15. bound — tied together
  16. net — after costs
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bound — certain
  19. field — farmland
  20. bound — obliged
  21. craft — boats
  22. net — for catching
  23. field — a subject
  24. branch — of a bank

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