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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. rest — a break
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. branch — a division
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. rest — what's left
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. field — a subject
  12. vault — a safe
  13. chest — a box
  14. rest — what's left
  15. spring — a coil
  16. field — farmland
  17. chest — of your body
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. perch — the fish
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — the season
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — of a tree

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