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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. march — the month
  3. drill — army training
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. drill — a practice
  8. branch — a division
  9. saw — the tool
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. row — a line
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. row — to paddle
  24. drill — the tool

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