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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: cold · fine · last · dip · hand · track · pitcher · branch

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. track — to keep track
  4. last — finally
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. dip — to sink
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. last — final
  10. hand — in cards
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. track — a song
  13. fine — all right
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. branch — a division
  19. fine — high quality
  20. track — a path
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. last — to go on
  24. dip — a sauce

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