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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. chest — of your body
  3. net — for catching
  4. branch — a division
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. last — final
  8. ball — a dance
  9. fork — in a road
  10. ground — the earth
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. chest — a box
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. last — finally
  18. ground — a position
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. net — after costs
  21. last — to go on
  22. net — in sport
  23. ground — crushed
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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