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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. net — after costs
  4. firm — steady
  5. firm — decided
  6. mine — for digging
  7. field — for sport
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. field — farmland
  11. root — the cause
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. field — a subject
  14. net — for catching
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. branch — a division
  17. net — in sport
  18. root — of a plant
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. root — of a word
  22. firm — a company
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. branch — of a bank

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