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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a song
  4. branch — a division
  5. kick — in football
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. march — music
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. pop — soda
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — an illness
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. march — the month
  17. pop — to visit
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. track — a path
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. season — in sport
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. pop — music
  24. season — of the year

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