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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. march — the month
  3. key — for a lock
  4. hand — in cards
  5. branch — a division
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. hand — help
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. key — the most important part
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. march — music
  13. wind — moving air
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wind — moving air
  17. key — in music
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. game — a match
  21. march — the month
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. game — wild animals
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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