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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. present — a gift
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. sharp — clever
  7. track — a path
  8. cell — a phone
  9. present — there
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — in biology
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. track — to keep track
  14. capital — money
  15. track — a song
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — farmland
  18. present — the time now
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. branch — a division
  22. capital — a city
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. arm — part of the body

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