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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. land — ground
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. march — music
  5. land — to come down
  6. stock — shares
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. stock — goods
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. branch — a division
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. swing — music
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. race — humankind
  15. squash — the sport
  16. march — the month
  17. land — a country
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — in golf
  20. race — a contest
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. race — the arms race
  23. squash — to crush
  24. stock — a soup base

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