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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 116 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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. shower — rain
  3. march — the month
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. cell — in biology
  6. scale — in music
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. cell — a phone
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. content — the amount
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. march — the month
  13. scale — size or range
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a leader
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. content — happy
  21. pitch — completely
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. march — music
  24. shower — to wash

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