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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. club — for dancing
  4. march — the month
  5. scale — size or range
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. game — a match
  8. march — the month
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — to recline
  12. scale — in music
  13. file — a tool
  14. club — a group
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. club — for golf
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. game — wild animals
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. file — a document
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. march — music
  24. file — a line of people

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