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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. date — the fruit
  3. bark — to shout
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. roll — a cake
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. wind — moving air
  8. roll — a list
  9. last — final
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. rock — music
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — finally
  23. rest — a break
  24. rock — a stone

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