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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. march — the month
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. field — a subject
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. field — farmland
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. wound — an injury
  14. board — a committee
  15. wound — an injury
  16. field — for sport
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. pound — a weight
  22. board — to get on
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. deal — to handle

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