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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 124 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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. saw — the tool
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ball — a dance
  7. current — happening now
  8. branch — a division
  9. current — electric
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. field — for sport
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. race — the arms race
  14. field — a subject
  15. game — a match
  16. race — humankind
  17. ball — a great time
  18. current — of water
  19. race — a contest
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — wild animals
  24. saw — the tool

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