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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. branch — a division
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. tube — the underground
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. craft — boats
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. tube — a container
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. court — of law
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. game — wild animals
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. court — for sport
  15. craft — a skill
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. field — farmland
  18. game — a match
  19. bark — to shout
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. field — a subject
  24. court — of a king

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