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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 116 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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. squash — to crush
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. field — for sport
  7. fork — in a road
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. march — the month
  10. field — a subject
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. field — farmland
  13. march — the month
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. march — music
  16. prune — to trim
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. prune — to trim
  21. squash — the sport
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. fork — a garden tool

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