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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. field — a subject
  3. branch — a division
  4. lean — to bend
  5. stem — to come from
  6. plane — a tool
  7. lean — thin
  8. swing — music
  9. field — farmland
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. swing — in golf
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. wound — an injury
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. foot — a measure
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. field — for sport
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. wound — an injury

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