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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. capital — a city
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. field — for sport
  8. current — happening now
  9. kid — to tease
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. capital — money
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. bear — the animal
  14. current — electric
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. field — a subject
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. current — of water
  19. bore — to drill
  20. field — farmland
  21. bear — the animal
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bore — to tire
  24. kid — child

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