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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — for catching
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. branch — a division
  5. kid — child
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. last — to go on
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. file — a line of people
  10. face — part of the head
  11. file — a document
  12. face — to confront
  13. file — a tool
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. season — in sport
  18. kid — to tease
  19. last — finally
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. net — after costs
  22. face — to point toward
  23. season — of the year
  24. last — final

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