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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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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 · branch · face · wound · mate · dip · net · pitcher

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — part of the head
  6. field — for sport
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. field — farmland
  9. face — to confront
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mate — a partner
  13. dip — to sink
  14. branch — a division
  15. net — for catching
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mate — to breed
  23. field — a subject
  24. net — in 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