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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. branch — a division
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — from a university
  8. field — for sport
  9. plane — a tool
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. degree — an amount
  17. field — a subject
  18. march — music
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. fork — in a road
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. fork — to eat with

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