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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: rash · can · field · present · branch · wake · stick · hide

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. can — a tin
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — hasty
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. field — a subject
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. field — farmland
  13. can — to be able to
  14. wake — a trail
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. can — a tin
  17. present — there
  18. branch — a division
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. present — the time now
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. field — for 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