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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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Word bank
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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: object · bark · pit · cap · march · branch · toast · last

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. cap — of ice
  4. pit — in a race
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. object — an aim
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. object — to protest
  12. march — music
  13. bark — to shout
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — a lid
  16. pit — a hole
  17. march — the month
  18. branch — a division
  19. last — finally
  20. last — final
  21. march — the month
  22. last — to go on
  23. object — a thing
  24. toast — the most admired

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