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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 116 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. content — happy
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. march — the month
  5. content — the amount
  6. dip — to sink
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. march — the month
  9. branch — a division
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. field — a subject
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. field — for sport
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. wound — an injury
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. wound — an injury
  21. field — farmland
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — clever

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