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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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Word bank
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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. march — the month
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — a trail
  5. tear — from crying
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. tear — to rip
  8. ball — a dance
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. ball — a great time
  13. saw — the tool
  14. wound — an injury
  15. saw — the tool
  16. march — the month
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. wound — an injury
  19. march — music
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — completely
  22. tear — from crying
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. saw — past of 'see'

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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