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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — for sport
  3. row — a line
  4. present — there
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. present — the time now
  8. drill — army training
  9. field — a subject
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. drill — the tool
  14. row — to paddle
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. foot — a measure
  19. branch — a division
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. present — a gift
  24. foot — 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