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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cell — in biology
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. degree — from a university
  8. scale — in music
  9. degree — an amount
  10. tube — a container
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. saw — the tool
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — a division
  16. degree — temperature
  17. march — the month
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — the underground
  21. scale — size or range
  22. cell — a phone
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. cell — in a prison

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