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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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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: land · lean · bark · field · branch · present · bank · content

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. 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. land — to come down
  2. branch — a division
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. land — ground
  5. bank — for money
  6. lean — to bend
  7. bank — of a river
  8. field — a subject
  9. bank — for money
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. present — a gift
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. content — happy
  14. lean — thin
  15. bark — to shout
  16. land — a country
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. present — the time now
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. present — there
  22. field — farmland
  23. content — the amount
  24. 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