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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. branch — a division
  4. tear — to rip
  5. band — a ring
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. tear — from crying
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. tear — from crying
  13. current — of water
  14. current — happening now
  15. kid — child
  16. current — electric
  17. wind — moving air
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. kid — to tease
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. plane — a tool
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. temple — a place of worship

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