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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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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. march — music
  5. staff — employees
  6. perch — the fish
  7. march — the month
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. last — final
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bass — low music
  13. wake — a trail
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bass — the fish
  16. staff — employees
  17. branch — a division
  18. last — to go on
  19. march — the month
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. spring — of water
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. last — finally
  24. spring — the season

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