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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 120 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. branch — a division
  3. scale — in music
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bound — obliged
  6. field — for sport
  7. can — to be able to
  8. rash — hasty
  9. field — farmland
  10. bound — tied together
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. rash — a series
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bulb — for light
  18. can — a tin
  19. bound — certain
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bulb — for light
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. can — a tin

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