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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. last — finally
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. march — music
  6. perch — the fish
  7. march — the month
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — army training
  10. game — wild animals
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. drill — a practice
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. last — final
  18. rule — a law
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. last — to go on
  21. game — a match
  22. rule — government
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a tree

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