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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. game — wild animals
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — in golf
  8. present — there
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. branch — a division
  11. present — a gift
  12. bark — to shout
  13. game — a match
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. content — happy
  16. present — the time now
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. swing — music
  20. march — the month
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. content — the amount
  24. leaves — to go away

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