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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. ground — the earth
  3. branch — a division
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — to paddle
  6. march — the month
  7. drill — the tool
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. chip — for betting
  10. ground — crushed
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. march — the month
  13. drill — army training
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. drill — a practice
  18. row — a line
  19. chip — to eat
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — exactly
  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