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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 116 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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bank — for money
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — in sport
  8. bass — the fish
  9. band — a music group
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. lie — to recline
  12. branch — a division
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bass — low music
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bat — the animal
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — of a river
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. band — a ring

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