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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. fine — high quality
  4. march — the month
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. bat — the animal
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. ground — the earth
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — the fruit
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. branch — a division
  18. fine — all right
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. rash — a series
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. ground — a position

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