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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 116 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. object — to protest
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. branch — a division
  5. present — the time now
  6. present — there
  7. wound — an injury
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — a subject
  10. ground — a position
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. object — an aim
  14. object — a thing
  15. present — a gift
  16. ground — the earth
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — goods
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. wound — an injury
  21. field — farmland
  22. ground — crushed
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — to tease

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