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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. date — the fruit
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. tear — to rip
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. branch — a division
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pound — a weight
  17. tear — from crying
  18. branch — of a bank

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