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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. can — a tin
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — of the year
  6. band — a music group
  7. kid — child
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. race — humankind
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. race — a contest
  13. can — to be able to
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. band — a ring
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. season — in sport
  18. race — the arms race
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. deal — to handle
  21. can — a tin
  22. kid — to tease
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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