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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: field · date · saw · branch · rule · squash · firm · net

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. net — for catching
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. squash — the sport
  10. branch — a division
  11. firm — decided
  12. saw — the tool
  13. field — farmland
  14. date — the fruit
  15. firm — a company
  16. net — after costs
  17. squash — to crush
  18. field — a subject
  19. saw — the tool
  20. net — in sport
  21. field — for sport
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. rule — a law

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