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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. court — of a king
  3. branch — a division
  4. shower — rain
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. field — a subject
  7. court — for sport
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. firm — steady
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. firm — a company
  12. court — of law
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. field — farmland
  16. wound — an injury
  17. deal — to handle
  18. current — electric
  19. firm — decided
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. wound — an injury
  22. current — of water
  23. field — for sport
  24. current — happening now

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