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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. last — to go on
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. branch — a division
  5. ground — the earth
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. march — the month
  9. last — final
  10. bulb — for light
  11. last — finally
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. ground — a position
  15. bark — to shout
  16. wind — moving air
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. bulb — for light
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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