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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. field — farmland
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. rest — a break
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. pound — a weight
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. rest — what's left
  12. field — for sport
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. rest — what's left
  15. court — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — happy
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — of law
  21. branch — a division
  22. row — a line
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. row — to paddle

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