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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 120 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 is an ace ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. key — in music
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. squash — to crush
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. key — for a lock
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. field — for sport
  11. rash — a series
  12. field — a subject
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. ground — the earth
  15. rash — hasty
  16. ground — a position
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. branch — a division
  19. squash — the sport
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. field — farmland
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. key — the most important part
  24. ground — crushed

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