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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. march — the month
  5. capital — money
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. degree — from a university
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — goods
  11. bore — to tire
  12. degree — temperature
  13. plane — a tool
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. branch — a division
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. degree — an amount
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. capital — a city
  20. bore — to drill
  21. march — the month
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. kick — in football

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