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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. march — music
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — a division
  7. spring — of water
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. season — of the year
  12. tear — to rip
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. stand — to bear
  15. tear — from crying
  16. net — for catching
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. tear — from crying
  19. march — the month
  20. chair — a leader
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. spring — a coil
  23. march — the month
  24. spring — the season

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