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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: wound · cabinet · wind · roll · field · object · game · branch

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. game — a match
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. object — a thing
  5. wound — an injury
  6. roll — a list
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. field — farmland
  10. roll — a cake
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. object — an aim
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. branch — a division
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. object — to protest
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. field — a subject
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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