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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. key — in music
  5. key — the most important part
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. field — for sport
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. key — for a lock
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. cell — a phone
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. chip — to eat
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. chip — for betting
  24. branch — a division

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