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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 ball is in your ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. court — for sport
  3. kid — to tease
  4. court — of law
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. march — the month
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. craft — boats
  12. shower — rain
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. kid — child
  15. court — of a king
  16. spell — magic
  17. march — music
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. shower — to wash
  21. craft — a skill
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — a short time
  24. branch — a division

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