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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. dip — to sink
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a partner
  6. sharp — clever
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. file — a document
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. march — the month
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. march — the month
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. file — a line of people
  17. game — wild animals
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. file — a tool
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. mate — a friend
  22. branch — a division
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. game — a match

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