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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. prune — to trim
  3. rest — a break
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. hand — in cards
  8. march — music
  9. hand — help
  10. mine — for digging
  11. prune — to trim
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pit — a hole
  16. rest — what's left
  17. toast — bread
  18. pit — in a race
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. march — the month
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. rest — what's left
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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