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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: row · march · kick · cap · cue · lash · sharp · branch

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. sharp — clever
  4. cap — of ice
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. cue — a signal
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. cue — a hint
  10. march — the month
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. kick — in football
  15. row — to paddle
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. row — a line
  18. march — music
  19. cap — a hat
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. cue — for pool
  22. branch — a division
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. cap — a lid

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