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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 120 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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. prune — to trim
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. land — to come down
  9. bear — the animal
  10. land — a country
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bear — the animal
  14. prune — to trim
  15. branch — a division
  16. land — ground
  17. degree — from a university
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. degree — an amount

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