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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bound — certain
  3. mine — for digging
  4. club — for dancing
  5. march — the month
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. branch — a division
  8. stand — to bear
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. march — the month
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. shower — to wash
  13. bound — obliged
  14. saw — the tool
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. bound — tied together
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. club — for golf
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. march — music
  23. club — a group
  24. mine — belonging to me

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