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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: cell · field · land · content · branch · last · bound · racket

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  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. branch — of a tree
  2. bound — obliged
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. land — to come down
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bound — tied together
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. content — the amount
  12. bound — certain
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. last — to go on
  15. branch — a division
  16. last — final
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. cell — in biology
  20. last — finally
  21. land — ground
  22. land — a country
  23. content — happy
  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