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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 116 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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Word bank
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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. squash — to crush
  5. rash — hasty
  6. spring — a coil
  7. rash — a series
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. pit — in a race
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. spring — of water
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. branch — a division
  16. squash — the sport
  17. spring — the season
  18. pit — a hole
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. field — for sport
  21. mine — for digging
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. squash — the vegetable

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