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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: branch · band · patient · last · race · kick · date · mouse

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. kick — in football
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. last — final
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. band — a music group
  11. race — the arms race
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. race — a contest
  14. last — to go on
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. race — humankind
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — a division
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. band — a ring
  23. date — the fruit
  24. date — on the calendar

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