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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. ground — crushed
  3. cold — not warm
  4. march — music
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. ground — the earth
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. perch — the fish
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. ground — a position
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. firm — a company
  17. prune — to trim
  18. march — the month
  19. firm — decided
  20. march — the month
  21. branch — a division
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. firm — steady

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