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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. band — a ring
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. branch — a division
  5. band — a music group
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. track — a path
  9. charge — a price
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. wound — an injury
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. wound — an injury
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. march — music
  17. track — a song
  18. charge — in control
  19. scale — in music
  20. charge — electricity
  21. scale — size or range
  22. track — to keep track
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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