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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 120 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: bass · bay · branch · net · tear · fall · foot · last

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. last — final
  3. branch — a division
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. bass — the fish
  6. tear — from crying
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. net — for catching
  9. last — to go on
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bass — low music
  13. net — in sport
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. tear — to rip
  18. fall — to drop
  19. net — after costs
  20. fall — the season
  21. last — finally
  22. tear — from crying
  23. foot — a measure
  24. fall — to drop

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