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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. field — for sport
  3. swing — music
  4. branch — a division
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. lean — thin
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. field — a subject
  11. swing — to play on
  12. stem — to come from
  13. swing — in golf
  14. band — a ring
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. lean — to bend
  17. bore — to drill
  18. field — farmland
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. bore — to tire
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. band — a music group
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. band — a rubber band

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