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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. club — for golf
  4. march — the month
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. branch — a division
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bound — certain
  10. charge — electricity
  11. charge — in control
  12. club — a group
  13. bound — tied together
  14. tear — from crying
  15. snap — to click
  16. club — for dancing
  17. march — music
  18. bound — obliged
  19. tear — to rip
  20. charge — a price
  21. field — for sport
  22. march — the month
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. tear — from crying

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