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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: chest · last · rush · branch · game · season · mine · craft

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rush — hurry
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. game — wild animals
  6. chest — a box
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. branch — a division
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — of the year
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. game — a match
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. mine — for digging
  19. chest — of your body
  20. craft — boats
  21. craft — a skill
  22. last — to go on
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — an explosive

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