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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. degree — an amount
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bark — to shout
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. degree — from a university
  9. branch — a division
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. shower — rain
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. march — the month
  14. chair — a leader
  15. present — the time now
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. degree — temperature
  18. present — there
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. march — music
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. present — a gift
  24. chair — a professorship

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