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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.

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: kick · field · branch · wax · cold · march · hand · hide

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. branch — a division
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. field — for sport
  7. cold — not warm
  8. hand — in cards
  9. march — the month
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. march — the month
  13. field — farmland
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. wax — to grow
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. march — music
  20. kick — in football
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. cold — an illness
  24. kick — a thrill

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