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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 116 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: club · branch · squash · last · track · wind · craft · pit

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. squash — the sport
  3. last — finally
  4. last — final
  5. wind — moving air
  6. track — a song
  7. track — a path
  8. craft — boats
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. club — for dancing
  13. branch — a division
  14. last — to go on
  15. squash — to crush
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. craft — a skill
  18. club — for golf
  19. pit — a hole
  20. track — to keep track
  21. wind — moving air
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. club — a group
  24. pit — in a race

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