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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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 — the month
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. branch — a division
  5. pop — music
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. can — to be able to
  8. field — a subject
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. can — a tin
  12. pop — to visit
  13. dip — to sink
  14. rush — hurry
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. field — farmland
  18. can — a tin
  19. march — music
  20. pop — soda
  21. march — the month
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. field — for sport
  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