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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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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: last · lean · wound · wave · field · branch · kick · file

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. last — to go on
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. file — a tool
  11. kick — in football
  12. file — a line of people
  13. field — a subject
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. last — finally
  17. wound — an injury
  18. lean — thin
  19. lean — to bend
  20. wound — an injury
  21. file — a document
  22. last — final
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. field — farmland

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