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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: shower · march · jam · land · fine · branch · sharp · saw

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. march — the month
  3. land — a country
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. sharp — clever
  6. march — the month
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. shower — to wash
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. saw — the tool
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. saw — the tool
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. land — ground
  18. land — to come down
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. shower — rain
  22. fine — all right
  23. march — music
  24. branch — a division

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