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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.

Make a worksheet

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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. present — there
  4. net — for catching
  5. last — finally
  6. ball — a great time
  7. branch — a division
  8. present — the time now
  9. track — a path
  10. track — a song
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. net — in sport
  14. ball — a dance
  15. net — after costs
  16. present — a gift
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. track — to keep track

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