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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 120 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: game · mark · file · calf · branch · hand · row · season

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. hand — help
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — of the year
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. row — to paddle
  9. file — a document
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. mark — a grade
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. row — a line
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. game — a match
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. file — a tool
  21. branch — a division
  22. mark — a trace
  23. file — a line of people
  24. game — wild animals

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