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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. branch — a division
  4. field — a subject
  5. last — final
  6. net — in sport
  7. spring — the season
  8. field — for sport
  9. bear — the animal
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. net — for catching
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. spring — of water
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bear — the animal
  18. last — finally
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. spring — a coil
  23. net — after costs
  24. last — to go on

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