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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. ground — crushed
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. net — in sport
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — the earth
  7. staff — employees
  8. last — finally
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. march — music
  11. net — for catching
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. march — the month
  15. cell — in biology
  16. staff — employees
  17. cell — a phone
  18. last — final
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. last — to go on
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. march — the month
  23. net — after costs
  24. staff — a stick

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