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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. march — music
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. vault — a safe
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. hand — help
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. branch — a division
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. lie — to recline
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. march — the month
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. scale — in music
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. hand — in cards
  23. scale — size or range
  24. lie — an untruth

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