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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. field — a subject
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rash — hasty
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. field — for sport
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. saw — the tool
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. object — to protest
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. saw — the tool
  16. rash — a series
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. branch — a division
  22. object — an aim
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. object — a thing

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