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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 124 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. file — a line of people
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. branch — a division
  6. mine — for digging
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. file — a tool
  9. band — a ring
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. chair — a leader
  12. file — a document
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. march — music
  17. roll — a list
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. toast — bread
  22. roll — a cake
  23. band — a music group
  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