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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 120 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. file — a tool
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. file — a document
  14. last — finally
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. branch — a division
  18. scale — in music
  19. last — final
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. file — a line of people
  23. scale — size or range
  24. fan — a supporter

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