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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.

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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: race · snap · branch · content · cell · field · jam · pit

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. field — for sport
  3. race — a contest
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. cell — a phone
  6. race — humankind
  7. pit — a hole
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. cell — in biology
  11. snap — to click
  12. content — the amount
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — happy
  16. race — the arms race
  17. field — farmland
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. branch — a division
  20. pit — in a race
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. field — a subject
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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