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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bear — the animal
  4. season — in sport
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bat — the animal
  9. march — music
  10. prune — to trim
  11. drill — army training
  12. march — the month
  13. prune — to trim
  14. branch — a division
  15. march — the month
  16. bear — the animal
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. season — of the year
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. drill — the tool

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