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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: season · last · club · pitcher · sharp · perch · branch · bank

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. last — finally
  4. season — in sport
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. sharp — clever
  7. branch — a division
  8. bank — for money
  9. club — a group
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — for golf
  12. bank — of a river
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bank — for money
  18. last — to go on
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. perch — the fish
  22. last — final
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. perch — for a bird

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