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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 120 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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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. pitcher — a jug
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rest — what's left
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. bat — the animal
  10. prune — to trim
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. field — for sport
  13. branch — a division
  14. field — a subject
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. prune — to trim
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rest — a break
  24. leaves — lets stay

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