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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 120 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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. last — finally
  3. hand — help
  4. season — in sport
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. sharp — clever
  9. march — the month
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bass — low music
  12. march — music
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. last — to go on
  16. branch — a division
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. last — final
  19. march — the month
  20. season — of the year
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bass — the fish
  24. branch — of a tree

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