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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 120 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. march — music
  4. board — to get on
  5. march — the month
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cap — of ice
  10. mark — a grade
  11. march — the month
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. mark — a trace
  14. saw — the tool
  15. board — a committee
  16. capital — money
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. capital — a city
  19. cap — a hat
  20. saw — the tool
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. branch — a division
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. branch — of a bank

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