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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · chest · leaves · spring · fall · cell · rash

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. rash — a series
  3. chest — of your body
  4. branch — a division
  5. fall — to drop
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cell — a phone
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. field — a subject
  11. rash — hasty
  12. fall — to drop
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. field — for sport
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — a coil
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. cell — in biology
  20. spring — the season
  21. fall — the season
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. field — farmland
  24. rash — on the skin

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