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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a great time
  4. march — music
  5. club — a group
  6. march — the month
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. row — a line
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — a division
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. club — for dancing
  13. club — for golf
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. row — to paddle
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — for digging
  22. march — the month
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. hide — to keep secret

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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