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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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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: fan · field · pitcher · branch · race · club · foot · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. race — humankind
  4. field — farmland
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. last — final
  7. club — a group
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. race — the arms race
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. field — for sport
  15. last — finally
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. club — for golf
  18. race — a contest
  19. foot — a measure
  20. club — for dancing
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. branch — a division
  23. field — a subject
  24. branch — of a tree

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