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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. branch — a division
  4. face — part of the head
  5. swing — in golf
  6. band — a ring
  7. bound — obliged
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. roll — a cake
  10. bound — certain
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. face — to point toward
  13. swing — to play on
  14. swing — music
  15. roll — a list
  16. bound — tied together
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. tear — from crying
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. face — to confront
  24. tear — to rip

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