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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — for catching
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. present — a gift
  6. mate — a friend
  7. branch — a division
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. rest — what's left
  10. net — in sport
  11. mate — a partner
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a music group
  15. present — there
  16. field — farmland
  17. rest — what's left
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. rest — a break
  21. present — the time now
  22. mate — to breed
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. field — a subject

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