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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. spring — the season
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. board — a committee
  6. field — a subject
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. spring — a coil
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. spring — of water
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. pitch — completely
  15. tube — the underground
  16. board — to get on
  17. stock — shares
  18. field — for sport
  19. branch — a division
  20. stock — goods
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. field — farmland
  24. tube — a container

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