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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. cap — a lid
  5. fine — all right
  6. drill — the tool
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. lean — thin
  9. drill — a practice
  10. capital — money
  11. cap — a hat
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. capital — a city
  16. lean — to bend
  17. march — music
  18. drill — army training
  19. march — the month
  20. cap — of ice
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. fine — high quality
  23. mine — for digging
  24. fine — a penalty

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