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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 · hide · kid · can · degree · saw · branch · stock

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. can — a tin
  3. saw — the tool
  4. degree — temperature
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. field — a subject
  7. saw — the tool
  8. can — to be able to
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. can — a tin
  15. kid — to tease
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. degree — from a university
  18. stock — goods
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. degree — an amount
  22. kid — child
  23. field — farmland
  24. branch — a division

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