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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. pitch — completely
  3. drill — army training
  4. chest — of your body
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. last — final
  7. branch — a division
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. last — finally
  11. drill — the tool
  12. spring — a coil
  13. lean — to bend
  14. chest — of your body
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. drill — a practice
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. chest — a box
  22. lean — thin
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. mouse — the animal

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