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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. march — the month
  3. land — a country
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. land — ground
  7. drill — army training
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. court — for sport
  10. staff — a stick
  11. content — the amount
  12. drill — a practice
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. content — happy
  15. court — of law
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mug — a face
  18. staff — employees
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. mug — to rob
  21. drill — the tool
  22. staff — employees
  23. branch — a division
  24. court — of a king

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