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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. march — the month
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a document
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. file — a tool
  9. sharp — clever
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. march — music
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. mine — for digging
  15. branch — a division
  16. march — the month
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. branch — of a bank

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