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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. field — for sport
  4. court — of a king
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. ground — crushed
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wind — moving air
  9. field — farmland
  10. court — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. ground — the earth
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. ground — a position
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. court — of law
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bark — to shout

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