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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. game — a match
  3. field — for sport
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bound — tied together
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bound — obliged
  10. game — wild animals
  11. field — a subject
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. rash — hasty
  14. field — farmland
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bound — certain
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. rash — a series
  21. cap — a hat
  22. branch — a division
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. dip — to dunk

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