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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. swing — to play on
  4. deal — to handle
  5. field — for sport
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. can — a tin
  8. branch — a division
  9. pop — to visit
  10. field — a subject
  11. can — a tin
  12. shower — to wash
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. pop — music
  16. kid — child
  17. can — to be able to
  18. shower — rain
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. swing — music
  21. kid — to tease
  22. pop — soda
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. swing — in golf

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