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

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. net — after costs
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. fall — to drop
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. net — in sport
  9. last — final
  10. branch — a division
  11. fall — the season
  12. net — for catching
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. band — a music group
  15. fall — to drop
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — finally
  18. branch — of a bank

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