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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  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 — music
  2. row — a line
  3. swing — in golf
  4. shower — rain
  5. swing — to play on
  6. branch — a division
  7. swing — music
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. march — the month
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. march — the month
  20. row — to paddle
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. shower — to wash
  23. branch — of a bank
  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