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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. fall — to drop
  8. race — a contest
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. firm — steady
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a music group
  16. march — music
  17. fall — the season
  18. march — the month
  19. fall — to drop
  20. race — the arms race
  21. firm — a company
  22. branch — a division
  23. firm — decided
  24. race — humankind

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