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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: mate · branch · board · season · racket · file · degree · last

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. branch — a division
  4. last — to go on
  5. file — a line of people
  6. mate — a partner
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. last — finally
  10. season — of the year
  11. mate — a friend
  12. board — to get on
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. file — a tool
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. mate — to breed
  17. file — a document
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. last — final
  24. degree — an amount

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