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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: rash · season · game · field · hand · toast · branch · fall

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. fall — the season
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. fall — to drop
  6. hand — in cards
  7. rash — hasty
  8. season — of the year
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. game — a match
  11. hand — help
  12. toast — bread
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. season — in sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. game — wild animals
  17. branch — a division
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. field — farmland
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. fall — to drop
  24. rash — a series

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