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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. mate — a friend
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. mug — a cup
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mug — a face
  8. board — a committee
  9. mate — a partner
  10. cold — an illness
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. branch — a division
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — for sport
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. net — after costs
  21. board — to get on
  22. field — a subject
  23. mug — to rob
  24. net — for catching

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