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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. track — a song
  3. field — farmland
  4. branch — a division
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — to wash
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. ball — a dance
  10. field — a subject
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. saw — the tool
  14. charge — a price
  15. saw — the tool
  16. track — to keep track
  17. charge — electricity
  18. ball — a great time
  19. charge — in control
  20. field — for sport
  21. shower — rain
  22. track — a path
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. bark — to shout

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