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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. march — music
  5. field — a subject
  6. march — the month
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. field — farmland
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. race — the arms race
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. band — a ring
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. race — a contest
  19. chair — a leader
  20. field — for sport
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. pass — a permit
  23. race — humankind
  24. branch — a division

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