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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 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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 — the time now
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — there
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. last — finally
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. track — a path
  15. branch — a division
  16. ball — a dance
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. track — a song
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. ball — a great time
  22. track — to keep track
  23. net — for catching
  24. branch — of a tree

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