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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: pound · stick · branch · date · tear · march · last · toast

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. branch — a division
  4. march — music
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. march — the month
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pound — a weight
  12. march — the month
  13. tear — from crying
  14. last — final
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. toast — bread
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. tear — to rip
  21. last — to go on
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. last — finally
  24. date — the fruit

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