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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bore — to tire
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bore — to drill
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — to crush
  8. field — a subject
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. field — farmland
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. branch — a division
  15. ball — a dance
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. ball — a great time
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. field — for sport
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — the animal

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