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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. ball — a great time
  4. march — music
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. fall — the season
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. fall — to drop
  9. branch — a division
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. march — the month
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. board — a committee
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. wind — moving air
  16. board — to get on
  17. content — happy
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. fall — to drop
  20. content — the amount
  21. ball — a dance
  22. dip — to sink
  23. wind — moving air
  24. branch — of a tree

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