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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. branch — a division
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — for catching
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. game — a match
  9. last — finally
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. last — to go on
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. last — final
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. game — wild animals
  24. rush — hurry

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