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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wake — a trail
  4. ground — the earth
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. rash — a series
  11. march — the month
  12. ground — a position
  13. rash — hasty
  14. scale — in music
  15. march — the month
  16. prune — to trim
  17. scale — size or range
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. branch — a division
  23. ground — crushed
  24. branch — of a bank

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