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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. lean — to bend
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. bass — low music
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bass — the fish
  7. lean — thin
  8. field — for sport
  9. chest — of your body
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. tube — the underground
  12. tube — a container
  13. court — for sport
  14. chest — of your body
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — of law
  17. field — farmland
  18. chest — a box
  19. branch — a division
  20. deal — to handle
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. field — a subject
  24. deal — a big deal

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