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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 120 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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. capital — a city
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. capital — money
  10. march — the month
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. club — for golf
  13. club — a group
  14. march — the month
  15. branch — a division
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. club — for dancing
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. trunk — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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