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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. kid — child
  4. march — the month
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — size or range
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. pit — a hole
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. branch — a division
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. fork — in a road
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. stem — to come from
  18. pit — in a race
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. march — the month
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — to tease

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