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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. march — music
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. branch — a division
  5. kid — to tease
  6. scale — size or range
  7. march — the month
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. object — a thing
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. swing — in golf
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. object — to protest
  14. game — a match
  15. prune — to trim
  16. object — an aim
  17. game — wild animals
  18. scale — in music
  19. prune — to trim
  20. march — the month
  21. kid — child
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. swing — to play on
  24. swing — music

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