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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. clip — for paper
  4. branch — a division
  5. spring — a coil
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. spring — of water
  8. march — the month
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. craft — boats
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. shower — to wash
  13. bank — of a river
  14. craft — a skill
  15. bank — for money
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. march — music
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bank — for money
  20. clip — a video
  21. spring — the season
  22. shower — rain
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. march — the month

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