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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. can — to be able to
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. hand — in cards
  5. can — a tin
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. branch — a division
  9. file — a line of people
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. band — a music group
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. tube — the underground
  16. file — a tool
  17. field — a subject
  18. hand — help
  19. field — for sport
  20. tube — a container
  21. field — farmland
  22. can — a tin
  23. file — a document
  24. tube — in a tire

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