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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. file — a line of people
  3. pop — music
  4. spell — magic
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. pop — soda
  8. file — a tool
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. key — in music
  11. craft — boats
  12. key — the most important part
  13. branch — a division
  14. key — for a lock
  15. pop — to visit
  16. spell — letters
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. file — a document
  19. craft — a skill
  20. spell — a short time
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. chest — of your body
  24. branch — of a tree

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