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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 120 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 had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. branch — a division
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. court — for sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. season — in sport
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. march — music
  16. season — of the year
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. court — of law
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. drill — the tool
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. chest — of your body
  23. drill — army training
  24. court — of a king

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