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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. band — a ring
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. field — farmland
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. squash — to crush
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. track — a path
  13. band — a music group
  14. dip — to sink
  15. track — a song
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. squash — the sport
  19. track — to keep track
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. field — for sport
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. field — a subject
  24. branch — a division

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