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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. mug — a cup
  6. march — the month
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mine — for digging
  9. root — of a word
  10. prune — to trim
  11. band — a music group
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — a series
  14. march — the month
  15. root — of a plant
  16. march — music
  17. mug — a face
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mug — to rob
  22. band — a ring
  23. rash — hasty
  24. root — the cause

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