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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. march — the month
  7. shower — rain
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. fine — all right
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. march — music
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. sharp — clever
  14. branch — a division
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. march — the month
  21. dip — to sink
  22. fine — high quality
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. branch — of a bank

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