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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. band — a ring
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. march — the month
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. band — a music group
  17. mine — for digging
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. fine — all right
  20. branch — a division
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cold — an illness
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. fine — high quality

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