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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. bank — for money
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — completely
  6. drill — army training
  7. sharp — clever
  8. march — the month
  9. branch — a division
  10. bank — for money
  11. march — music
  12. scale — size or range
  13. march — the month
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. bank — of a river
  18. drill — a practice
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. scale — in music
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. drill — the tool

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