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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. prune — to trim
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. stand — to bear
  7. staff — a stick
  8. last — final
  9. prune — to trim
  10. last — finally
  11. march — music
  12. last — to go on
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. net — in sport
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. net — after costs
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. net — for catching
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — a division
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — employees

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