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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. mug — a cup
  3. mug — to rob
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fork — in a road
  6. ground — crushed
  7. field — a subject
  8. wound — an injury
  9. field — for sport
  10. band — a ring
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — the earth
  14. mug — a face
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. field — farmland
  17. content — happy
  18. band — a music group
  19. branch — a division
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. content — the amount
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. fork — a garden tool

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