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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. net — after costs
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. net — for catching
  5. fine — all right
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. field — a subject
  8. dip — to sink
  9. net — in sport
  10. current — of water
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — rain
  14. branch — a division
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. current — electric
  19. mark — a trace
  20. current — happening now
  21. fine — high quality
  22. field — farmland
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. field — for sport

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