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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. dip — to sink
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. pit — a hole
  5. wound — an injury
  6. field — a subject
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. wound — an injury
  9. field — farmland
  10. drill — a practice
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. drill — the tool
  14. pit — in a race
  15. field — for sport
  16. mate — a partner
  17. drill — army training
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — magic
  21. branch — a division
  22. mate — a friend
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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