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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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. march — music
  4. face — to confront
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bound — tied together
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. net — for catching
  10. rash — a series
  11. clip — a video
  12. ball — a great time
  13. ball — a dance
  14. bound — certain
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. net — after costs
  17. rash — hasty
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bound — obliged
  20. clip — for paper
  21. net — in sport
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. march — the month
  24. face — part of the head

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