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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. field — for sport
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. pass — a permit
  11. swing — to play on
  12. kid — child
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — shares
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. branch — a division
  17. field — a subject
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — in golf
  21. field — farmland
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. wave — of the sea

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