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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. land — a country
  3. field — farmland
  4. snap — to click
  5. land — ground
  6. rash — hasty
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rash — a series
  11. mark — a grade
  12. land — to come down
  13. chest — of your body
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. field — for sport
  16. chest — a box
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. mark — a trace
  19. field — a subject
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. calf — a young 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