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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. field — farmland
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. content — happy
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bass — low music
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. branch — a division
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bound — certain
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — for sport
  19. squash — the sport
  20. content — the amount
  21. bat — the animal
  22. squash — to crush
  23. bound — tied together
  24. branch — of a bank

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