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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 116 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 · land · ground · track · bulb · branch · wind · mouse

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. branch — a division
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. land — to come down
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. field — a subject
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — for sport
  12. ground — crushed
  13. wind — moving air
  14. track — to keep track
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. track — a song
  19. land — a country
  20. track — a path
  21. wind — moving air
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bulb — for light
  24. ground — a position

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