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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  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. march — the month
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. march — music
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cue — a signal
  6. saw — the tool
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. shower — rain
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. hand — in cards
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. march — the month
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cue — for pool
  18. tear — from crying
  19. saw — the tool
  20. hand — help
  21. shower — to wash
  22. branch — a division
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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