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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. last — final
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. perch — the fish
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. last — to go on
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. toast — bread
  12. march — music
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. land — a country
  16. last — finally
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. land — to come down
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. land — ground
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. branch — a division

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