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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 · fork · branch · wave · mate · rock · fall · court

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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. court — of law
  4. fall — to drop
  5. march — the month
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. court — of a king
  8. mate — to breed
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. rock — music
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. court — for sport
  14. mate — a friend
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. mate — a partner
  18. march — the month
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. rock — a stone
  22. fall — the season
  23. fork — in a road
  24. wave — with your hand

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