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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. field — for sport
  5. fall — to drop
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. cap — a lid
  9. prune — to trim
  10. field — a subject
  11. cap — a hat
  12. snap — to click
  13. fall — the season
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. hand — help
  17. field — farmland
  18. fall — to drop
  19. prune — to trim
  20. key — in music
  21. cap — of ice
  22. key — the most important part
  23. key — for a lock
  24. branch — a division

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