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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. field — farmland
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pound — a weight
  8. last — to go on
  9. rule — government
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. rule — a law
  13. last — finally
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. last — final
  18. field — a subject
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. field — for sport
  21. branch — a division
  22. perch — the fish
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. wind — moving air

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