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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 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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. branch — a division
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. degree — from a university
  5. cue — a hint
  6. degree — an amount
  7. march — music
  8. cue — a signal
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. cue — for pool
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. degree — temperature
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. wake — a trail
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a line
  24. march — the month

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