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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. cell — in biology
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. chair — a leader
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. fork — in a road
  9. field — farmland
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. field — a subject
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. stock — shares
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. field — for sport
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. branch — a division
  24. stock — goods

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