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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for golf
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. chip — to eat
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. saw — the tool
  9. march — the month
  10. chip — for betting
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. court — of law
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — for sport
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. saw — the tool
  20. cold — an illness
  21. march — the month
  22. snap — to click
  23. club — for dancing
  24. cold — not warm

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