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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. march — the month
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. field — farmland
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — of ice
  9. shower — rain
  10. field — a subject
  11. roll — a list
  12. march — music
  13. toast — bread
  14. cap — a hat
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. roll — a cake
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. field — for sport
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. march — the month
  23. branch — a division
  24. safe — a strongbox

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