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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: present · cold · ball · date · branch · ruler · march · saw

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. cold — an illness
  3. march — the month
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. date — the fruit
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. march — music
  12. present — there
  13. ball — a dance
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. saw — the tool
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. march — the month
  20. cold — not warm
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. present — a gift
  23. present — the time now
  24. ball — a round shape

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