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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. cap — a lid
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. branch — a division
  6. last — finally
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. press — to push
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — a publisher
  11. march — the month
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. game — a match
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — a container
  16. game — wild animals
  17. last — to go on
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. march — the month
  20. stand — to bear
  21. cap — of ice
  22. cap — a hat
  23. march — music
  24. stand — on your feet

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