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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bark · fall · rush · last · branch · mate · bore · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. rush — hurry
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bore — to drill
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. branch — a division
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bore — to tire
  11. last — finally
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. season — of the year
  15. mate — to breed
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. season — in sport
  18. mate — a partner
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. last — final
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. last — to go on
  24. fall — the season

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