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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. chair — a leader
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. shower — to wash
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. march — music
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. scale — size or range
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. shower — rain
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. scale — in music
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. branch — a division
  24. march — the month

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