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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. field — farmland
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. ground — a position
  8. firm — a company
  9. field — a subject
  10. mark — a trace
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. march — the month
  13. mark — a grade
  14. firm — steady
  15. field — for sport
  16. march — music
  17. ground — the earth
  18. branch — a division
  19. wind — moving air
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. firm — decided
  22. ground — crushed
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. march — the month

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