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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  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. march — the month
  2. drill — a practice
  3. last — final
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. root — of a word
  6. last — finally
  7. branch — a division
  8. last — to go on
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. drill — army training
  11. root — the cause
  12. current — electric
  13. march — the month
  14. drill — the tool
  15. staff — a stick
  16. cold — not warm
  17. current — of water
  18. staff — employees
  19. cold — an illness
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. staff — employees
  22. current — happening now
  23. root — of a plant
  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