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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 124 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. march — the month
  3. branch — a division
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. key — in music
  7. shower — to wash
  8. key — for a lock
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. march — the month
  11. track — a path
  12. cell — a phone
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. shower — rain
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. prune — to trim
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. prune — to trim
  21. track — to keep track
  22. cell — in biology
  23. key — the most important part
  24. march — music

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