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

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — a thing
  4. bark — to shout
  5. band — a ring
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. object — an aim
  9. band — a music group
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. bank — of a river
  12. branch — a division
  13. face — to confront
  14. bank — for money
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bank — for money
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. face — part of the head
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. wind — moving air
  23. face — to point toward
  24. band — a rubber band

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