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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. deal — to handle
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. spell — letters
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. spell — magic
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. field — for sport
  11. last — to go on
  12. craft — boats
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. last — finally
  16. field — a subject
  17. firm — steady
  18. bat — the animal
  19. firm — a company
  20. field — farmland
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. branch — a division
  23. spell — a short time
  24. firm — decided

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