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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. ball — a great time
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. ball — a dance
  5. march — music
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. branch — a division
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. rush — hurry
  18. cold — an illness
  19. march — the month
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. branch — of a tree

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