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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: mine · mouse · staff · last · wound · swing · branch · pass

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  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. mine — for digging
  2. staff — employees
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. swing — in golf
  6. last — final
  7. branch — a division
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. staff — employees
  12. last — to go on
  13. swing — music
  14. wound — an injury
  15. staff — a stick
  16. swing — to play on
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. pass — a permit
  20. last — finally
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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