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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. field — a subject
  4. pit — in a race
  5. prune — to trim
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rule — government
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pit — a hole
  13. capital — money
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. rule — a law
  16. chair — a leader
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. branch — a division
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. prune — to trim
  21. field — for sport
  22. capital — a city
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. chair — to sit on

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