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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. march — music
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. wound — an injury
  7. season — of the year
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. march — the month
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. chest — a box
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. march — the month
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. chest — of your body
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. branch — a division
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. wound — an injury

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