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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: kid · deal · field · content · branch · rest · saw · trunk

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. rest — what's left
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. content — happy
  6. kid — to tease
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. saw — the tool
  9. content — the amount
  10. rest — what's left
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. deal — to handle
  15. kid — child
  16. rest — a break
  17. branch — a division
  18. saw — the tool
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — farmland

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