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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. branch — a division
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. key — for a lock
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. field — farmland
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. stand — to bear
  14. date — the fruit
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. wake — a trail
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — in music
  20. field — a subject
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a great time
  24. field — for sport

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