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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: club · foot · branch · calf · nail · field · ground · chest

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. ground — crushed
  3. foot — a measure
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. chest — a box
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. chest — of your body
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. chest — of your body
  13. club — for dancing
  14. field — for sport
  15. club — for golf
  16. ground — a position
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. ground — the earth
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. club — a group
  22. branch — a division
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — a subject

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