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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. branch — a division
  3. track — a path
  4. craft — boats
  5. press — a publisher
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. track — to keep track
  8. press — to push
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. kid — to tease
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. track — a song
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. craft — a skill
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. press — newspapers
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. kid — child
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — of a river
  23. bat — the animal
  24. field — for sport

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