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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. club — a group
  9. cold — an illness
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. branch — a division
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. bat — the animal
  19. mine — for digging
  20. club — for dancing
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. club — for golf
  24. bat — for baseball

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