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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bore — to tire
  4. last — finally
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. last — final
  7. bore — to drill
  8. row — a line
  9. last — to go on
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. march — the month
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. row — to paddle
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. stand — to bear
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. branch — a division
  23. wound — an injury
  24. march — the month

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