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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 chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. last — final
  3. field — a subject
  4. squash — the sport
  5. last — to go on
  6. band — a music group
  7. field — farmland
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. branch — a division
  11. band — a ring
  12. squash — to crush
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. field — for sport
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. last — finally
  24. arm — a part of something

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