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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. march — the month
  3. cap — a lid
  4. track — a song
  5. track — a path
  6. game — a match
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. march — the month
  9. fall — the season
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — of ice
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. track — to keep track
  20. march — music
  21. craft — boats
  22. craft — a skill
  23. branch — a division
  24. bat — the animal

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