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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. season — in sport
  4. mine — for digging
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. season — of the year
  9. kid — to tease
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. march — the month
  12. last — to go on
  13. march — the month
  14. last — final
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. branch — a division
  20. march — music
  21. toast — bread
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. last — finally
  24. kid — child

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