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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 will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. march — music
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. march — the month
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. hand — in cards
  12. craft — boats
  13. net — after costs
  14. hand — help
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bank — for money
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bank — of a river
  19. branch — a division
  20. craft — a skill
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — for catching
  24. bank — for money

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