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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 116 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. mate — a friend
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bound — tied together
  5. last — final
  6. mate — to breed
  7. wind — moving air
  8. last — to go on
  9. rush — hurry
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. last — finally
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. net — after costs
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. branch — a division
  20. bound — obliged
  21. mate — a partner
  22. bound — certain
  23. net — for catching
  24. wind — moving air

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