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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. spell — letters
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. march — the month
  7. branch — a division
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. spell — magic
  10. file — a line of people
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. file — a document
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. stem — to come from
  19. spell — a short time
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. file — a tool
  23. mine — for digging
  24. rock — music

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