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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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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: hand · bear · pop · cap · mark · field · branch · march

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  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. field — a subject
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. branch — a division
  6. mark — a grade
  7. cap — a lid
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. cap — a hat
  10. pop — music
  11. cap — of ice
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. hand — help
  14. pop — soda
  15. field — farmland
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. march — the month
  22. pop — to visit
  23. mark — a trace
  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