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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. net — after costs
  3. foot — a measure
  4. last — to go on
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a ring
  9. rest — a break
  10. roll — a cake
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. last — finally
  13. roll — a list
  14. net — in sport
  15. last — final
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. band — a music group
  22. net — for catching
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. branch — of a bank

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