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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: last · ball · rush · branch · shower · field · jam · calf

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. last — finally
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. branch — a division
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. rush — hurry
  10. last — to go on
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. field — for sport
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. field — a subject
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. ball — a dance
  18. last — final
  19. shower — to wash
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. ball — a great time
  22. field — farmland
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — a meteor shower

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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