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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. kid — to tease
  4. branch — a division
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. field — a subject
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. deal — to handle
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. press — a publisher
  14. spell — letters
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. spell — magic
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. press — newspapers
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. spell — a short time
  22. kid — child
  23. press — to push
  24. deal — an agreement

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