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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. field — for sport
  4. rash — a series
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. rock — music
  8. field — a subject
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. face — to point toward
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rash — hasty
  14. clip — a video
  15. game — wild animals
  16. branch — a division
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. field — farmland
  19. game — a match
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — part of the head
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pitcher — a jug

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