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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. field — a subject
  3. cap — of ice
  4. branch — a division
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. cap — a lid
  8. swing — to play on
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. swing — in golf
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. season — in sport
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. content — happy
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. cap — a hat
  19. field — farmland
  20. content — the amount
  21. season — of the year
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. swing — music
  24. field — for sport

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