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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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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: track · field · rock · fine · present · bulb · branch · bat

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. rock — music
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. field — farmland
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. rock — a stone
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. fine — high quality
  11. track — a song
  12. bat — the animal
  13. present — the time now
  14. fine — all right
  15. present — a gift
  16. field — for sport
  17. bulb — for light
  18. track — to keep track
  19. bulb — for light
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. present — there
  23. field — a subject
  24. track — a path

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