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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. field — farmland
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. field — a subject
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. branch — a division
  8. pound — a weight
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bat — the animal
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. swing — music
  19. bore — to drill
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — in golf
  22. field — for sport
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bat — in an idiom

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