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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. march — music
  5. chest — a box
  6. branch — a division
  7. march — the month
  8. lean — thin
  9. drill — army training
  10. track — to keep track
  11. scale — in music
  12. drill — the tool
  13. chest — of your body
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. track — a song
  17. march — the month
  18. scale — size or range
  19. drill — a practice
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. chest — of your body
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. lean — to bend
  24. lean — to rest against

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