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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. branch — a division
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. field — for sport
  7. game — a match
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. mine — for digging
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. rock — music
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. row — to paddle
  14. foot — a measure
  15. field — a subject
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. field — farmland
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. row — a line
  21. rock — a stone
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a kind of play

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