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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. prune — to trim
  3. lean — to bend
  4. prune — to trim
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. drill — the tool
  8. season — in sport
  9. lean — thin
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — a line
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. drill — a practice
  16. band — a ring
  17. drill — army training
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. branch — a division
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. band — a music group
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. bark — to shout
  24. season — of the year

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