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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. present — a gift
  3. file — a tool
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. drill — a practice
  7. drill — army training
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. drill — the tool
  11. branch — a division
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. lean — to bend
  14. lean — thin
  15. craft — a skill
  16. band — a music group
  17. craft — boats
  18. present — the time now
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. present — there
  21. file — a document
  22. pound — a weight
  23. band — a ring
  24. file — a line of people

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