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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · branch · club · cell · rule · spring

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. cell — in biology
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. club — for dancing
  6. field — a subject
  7. spring — of water
  8. club — a group
  9. spring — a coil
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. spring — the season
  13. rule — a law
  14. club — for golf
  15. rule — government
  16. cell — a phone
  17. branch — a division
  18. field — for sport

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