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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 120 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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. pit — a hole
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — in sport
  9. branch — a division
  10. file — a line of people
  11. wind — moving air
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. present — a gift
  15. stem — to come from
  16. net — after costs
  17. file — a tool
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. file — a document
  22. present — the time now
  23. wind — moving air
  24. present — there

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