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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 116 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. branch — a division
  3. march — the month
  4. rock — a stone
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. ball — a dance
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. land — a country
  13. march — the month
  14. ball — a great time
  15. rock — music
  16. march — music
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. land — to come down

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