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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. rest — a break
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. fine — all right
  6. mine — for digging
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. branch — a division
  11. row — to paddle
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. kick — in football
  14. row — a line
  15. rest — what's left
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. field — farmland
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. rest — what's left
  24. ruler — a monarch

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