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

Word bank: branch · cell · stick · field · cold · club

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. cell — in biology
  3. field — a subject
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. club — a group
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. club — for golf
  8. field — for sport
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. field — farmland
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. club — for dancing
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. 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