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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 116 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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. key — the most important part
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. bank — for money
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. key — in music
  8. net — after costs
  9. bank — of a river
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. last — finally
  13. last — final
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. net — in sport
  16. branch — a division
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bank — for money
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. key — for a lock
  21. net — for catching
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. bat — the animal

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