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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. bank — for money
  4. present — there
  5. tube — a container
  6. squash — to crush
  7. field — for sport
  8. chest — of your body
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. chest — of your body
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bank — of a river
  17. present — the time now
  18. chest — a box
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — a division
  21. bank — for money
  22. tube — the underground
  23. present — a gift
  24. squash — the sport

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