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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. can — a tin
  3. branch — a division
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. bat — the animal
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. can — a tin
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. can — to be able to
  12. game — wild animals
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. field — for sport
  22. net — after costs
  23. field — farmland
  24. game — a match

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