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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. field — a subject
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. last — final
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. last — finally
  8. mark — a trace
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. foot — a measure
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. field — farmland
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. wound — an injury
  17. field — for sport
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. last — to go on
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. mark — a grade

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