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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pass — a permit
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. branch — a division
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. band — a ring
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. wound — an injury
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. file — a tool
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. file — a document
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. chair — a leader
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. file — a line of people
  24. band — a music group

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