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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — hasty
  4. tube — a container
  5. row — a line
  6. season — in sport
  7. march — the month
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. tube — the underground
  10. scale — in music
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. scale — size or range
  13. pound — a weight
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. rash — a series
  16. row — to paddle
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. branch — a division
  19. march — the month
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. march — music
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — to add flavour

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