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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. branch — a division
  4. net — for catching
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. march — the month
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. net — in sport
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. bat — the animal
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lean — thin
  17. march — the month
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. net — after costs
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. perch — the fish
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bat — in an idiom

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