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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. cap — of ice
  3. march — music
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. plane — a tool
  7. row — to paddle
  8. cap — a hat
  9. race — humankind
  10. sharp — clever
  11. branch — a division
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. cap — a lid
  14. march — the month
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. race — a contest
  17. march — the month
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. race — the arms race
  24. row — a line

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