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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. squash — the sport
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. track — a path
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. field — for sport
  7. shower — rain
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. tube — the underground
  10. squash — to crush
  11. shower — to wash
  12. tube — a container
  13. snap — to click
  14. track — to keep track
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. track — a song
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. branch — a division
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. chair — a leader
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. tube — in a tire

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