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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. board — a committee
  3. field — a subject
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lean — to bend
  6. key — the most important part
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. ball — a great time
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — in music
  11. net — in sport
  12. field — for sport
  13. board — to get on
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. lean — thin
  16. net — after costs
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. net — for catching
  20. branch — a division
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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