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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. rest — a break
  3. rest — what's left
  4. drill — army training
  5. branch — a division
  6. spring — of water
  7. march — the month
  8. last — finally
  9. last — to go on
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. pit — in a race
  12. drill — a practice
  13. march — the month
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. march — music
  16. rest — what's left
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. spring — a coil
  19. last — final
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. drill — the tool
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. pit — a hole
  24. spring — the season

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