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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. perch — the fish
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. sharp — clever
  10. field — a subject
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. bank — for money
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. tube — a container
  18. branch — a division
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. field — farmland
  21. bank — of a river
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bank — for money

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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