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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: bear · roll · ruler · field · cold · kid · branch · board

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. field — for sport
  3. bear — the animal
  4. board — a committee
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. roll — a list
  7. cold — not warm
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. field — a subject
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. kid — to tease
  15. field — farmland
  16. roll — a cake
  17. kid — child
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. bear — the animal
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — a division
  23. cold — an illness
  24. board — to get on

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