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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 124 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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. march — the month
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. content — happy
  6. saw — the tool
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fork — in a road
  9. race — humankind
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. race — the arms race
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rash — a series
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. march — music
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. march — the month
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. race — a contest
  23. content — the amount
  24. branch — a division

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