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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. last — to go on
  4. sharp — clever
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. last — final
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. bass — the fish
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. branch — a division
  13. season — of the year
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — a group
  19. bass — low music
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. club — for dancing
  24. bat — in an idiom

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