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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: mate · hand · last · key · fan · file · rash · branch

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. hand — help
  3. last — finally
  4. file — a line of people
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. key — the most important part
  9. mate — a partner
  10. rash — a series
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. mate — to breed
  13. key — in music
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a tool
  17. rash — hasty
  18. hand — in cards
  19. last — to go on
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. branch — a division
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. mate — a friend
  24. last — final

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