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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. spell — a short time
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. roll — a list
  7. vault — a safe
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. spell — magic
  10. march — music
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. branch — a division
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. spell — letters
  16. fork — in a road
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. roll — a cake
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. branch — of a bank

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