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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. band — a music group
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. club — for dancing
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. prune — to trim
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. branch — a division
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. prune — to trim
  23. club — for golf
  24. club — a group

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