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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. rest — what's left
  3. branch — a division
  4. band — a ring
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. file — a line of people
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. capital — money
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. file — a document
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. tube — the underground
  16. capital — a city
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. file — a tool
  21. rest — a break
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. band — a music group
  24. rest — what's left

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