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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. march — the month
  5. firm — a company
  6. firm — decided
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — a city
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. firm — steady
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. fork — in a road
  19. branch — a division
  20. march — the month
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. capital — money
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. branch — of a tree

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