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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. march — the month
  3. ground — crushed
  4. branch — a division
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. land — a country
  7. land — ground
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. ground — a position
  10. shower — to wash
  11. wake — a trail
  12. march — the month
  13. shower — rain
  14. land — to come down
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. ground — the earth
  17. charge — electricity
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. charge — a price
  21. march — music
  22. charge — in control
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. wake — before a funeral

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