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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. roll — a list
  4. cell — a phone
  5. field — a subject
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. branch — a division
  9. club — a group
  10. game — wild animals
  11. club — for golf
  12. field — for sport
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. roll — a cake
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. club — for dancing
  21. field — farmland
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. game — a match
  24. game — a kind of play

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