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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. present — the time now
  5. march — the month
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. present — a gift
  9. track — a song
  10. track — to keep track
  11. march — music
  12. wax — to grow
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. shower — rain
  16. track — a path
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. present — there
  19. shower — to wash
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — a practice
  22. branch — a division
  23. drill — army training
  24. march — the month

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