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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. row — a line
  3. game — a match
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. march — the month
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. lie — to recline
  13. toast — bread
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. march — the month
  19. row — to paddle
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — a division
  22. game — wild animals
  23. march — music
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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