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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: sharp · wound · stem · fall · deal · field · rash · branch

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. field — a subject
  3. stem — to come from
  4. deal — to handle
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. sharp — clever
  8. rash — hasty
  9. fall — the season
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. field — farmland
  12. fall — to drop
  13. branch — a division
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. field — for sport
  18. wound — an injury
  19. fall — to drop
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rash — a series
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — exactly

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