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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. field — a subject
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. rest — a break
  7. stock — goods
  8. rest — what's left
  9. last — finally
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. field — farmland
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. field — for sport
  16. stock — shares
  17. wound — an injury
  18. plane — a tool
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. branch — a division
  21. last — final
  22. kid — child
  23. wound — an injury
  24. rest — what's left

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