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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. face — to confront
  4. court — of law
  5. wound — an injury
  6. field — for sport
  7. wound — an injury
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. field — farmland
  11. pound — a weight
  12. game — wild animals
  13. court — for sport
  14. game — a match
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. court — of a king
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. face — part of the head
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. face — to point toward
  23. shower — rain
  24. field — a subject

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