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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. bat — the animal
  5. band — a ring
  6. field — farmland
  7. wound — an injury
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a song
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. branch — a division
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. track — a path
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. field — a subject
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. field — for sport
  24. band — a music group

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