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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. last — final
  3. land — ground
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. last — to go on
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. key — the most important part
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pitch — completely
  11. key — in music
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. perch — the fish
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — money
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — a country
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. key — for a lock
  23. last — finally
  24. leaves — to go away

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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