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

Word bank: field · present · stick · rash · snap · cell · current · branch

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. rash — a series
  3. present — a gift
  4. rash — hasty
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. present — the time now
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — a division
  11. current — happening now
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. field — a subject
  14. cell — a phone
  15. current — of water
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. field — farmland
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. snap — to click
  20. current — electric
  21. present — there
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. field — for sport
  24. cell — in a prison

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