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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · mine · dip · fork · pop · branch · racket · squash

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — to crush
  4. field — farmland
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. pop — music
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. field — for sport
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. dip — to sink
  16. fork — in a road
  17. field — a subject
  18. pop — soda
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. branch — a division
  23. pop — to visit
  24. racket — a loud noise

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