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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 120 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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. mine — for digging
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. march — the month
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. march — the month
  8. drill — the tool
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. branch — a division
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. field — for sport
  15. march — music
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. wax — to grow
  18. field — farmland
  19. drill — army training
  20. stock — shares
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. drill — a practice
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. field — a subject

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