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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. field — a subject
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. mark — a grade
  6. cold — an illness
  7. field — for sport
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. field — farmland
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. saw — the tool
  20. pitch — completely
  21. cold — not warm
  22. branch — a division
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. safe — out of danger

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