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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 120 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  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 — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. pit — in a race
  5. plane — a tool
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. foot — a measure
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — a division
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. field — a subject
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. pit — a hole
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. trunk — of a tree
  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