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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: rash · branch · last · chair · nail · mark · row · track

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. last — finally
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. rash — a series
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. mark — a trace
  9. branch — a division
  10. chair — a leader
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. row — to paddle
  13. mark — a grade
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. track — a path
  17. last — final
  18. row — a line
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. last — to go on
  23. track — a song
  24. track — to keep track

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