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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. pop — to visit
  3. cell — in biology
  4. branch — a division
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. pop — soda
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. field — a subject
  14. game — wild animals
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. field — for sport
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. pop — music
  22. field — farmland
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cell — a phone

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