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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  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. rush — to hurry
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. branch — a division
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. last — final
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. net — in sport
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. field — farmland
  13. rock — music
  14. last — finally
  15. net — after costs
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. last — to go on
  19. net — for catching
  20. rock — a stone
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — for sport
  23. rush — a thrill
  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