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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · branch · lean · rest · wake · bowl · wind · date

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. march — music
  3. rest — a break
  4. rest — what's left
  5. lean — to bend
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. rest — what's left
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. wind — moving air
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. march — the month
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. date — the fruit
  21. wake — a trail
  22. lean — thin
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. march — the month

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