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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 120 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  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. field — farmland
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. bear — the animal
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. branch — a division
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. snap — to click
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bear — the animal
  11. march — music
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. club — a group
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. club — for golf
  18. field — a subject
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. club — for dancing
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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