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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. ball — a dance
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. mug — a face
  5. band — a ring
  6. field — farmland
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. bark — to shout
  9. capital — money
  10. mug — a cup
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. mug — to rob
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. branch — a division
  16. field — for sport
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. capital — a city
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. ball — a great time
  22. field — a subject
  23. band — a music group
  24. ball — a round shape

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