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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. pound — a weight
  3. mate — to breed
  4. last — finally
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. ball — a dance
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. mate — a friend
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. net — in sport
  11. shower — rain
  12. net — after costs
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. ball — a great time
  16. shower — to wash
  17. last — to go on
  18. mate — a partner
  19. branch — a division
  20. net — for catching
  21. last — final
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. ball — a round shape

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