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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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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: bowl · branch · board · spell · march · tube · tear · cell

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. cell — a phone
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. march — the month
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. branch — a division
  9. board — to get on
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. march — music
  12. board — a committee
  13. tube — the underground
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — a short time
  16. march — the month
  17. tear — to rip
  18. spell — magic
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. tube — a container
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bowl — to roll

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