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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. drill — a practice
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. mark — a grade
  5. pop — soda
  6. drill — army training
  7. field — a subject
  8. pop — to visit
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. branch — a division
  11. bat — the animal
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. mark — a trace
  15. court — for sport
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. court — of a king
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. field — farmland
  22. drill — the tool
  23. court — of law
  24. field — for 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