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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. band — a music group
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. firm — steady
  5. board — to get on
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. spell — a short time
  9. last — to go on
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. last — finally
  12. firm — decided
  13. firm — a company
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. board — a committee
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. spell — letters
  19. band — a ring
  20. branch — a division
  21. mine — for digging
  22. spell — magic
  23. last — final
  24. wind — to turn a key

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