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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: chest · pit · branch · perch · field · bay · key · wind

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pit — a hole
  6. field — for sport
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. key — for a lock
  10. field — a subject
  11. perch — the fish
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. pit — in a race
  15. branch — a division
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. key — in music
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. chest — of your body
  22. key — the most important part
  23. chest — a box
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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