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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. branch — a division
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — to wash
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. present — a gift
  7. march — the month
  8. row — a line
  9. march — music
  10. present — there
  11. ground — crushed
  12. march — the month
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. face — to confront
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. chair — a leader
  18. shower — rain
  19. face — to point toward
  20. ground — a position
  21. present — the time now
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. face — part of the head
  24. row — to paddle

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