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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. chest — of your body
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. chest — of your body
  12. field — farmland
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. dip — to sink
  15. deal — to handle
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. bulb — for light
  19. chest — a box
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. branch — a division
  22. band — a music group
  23. bulb — for light
  24. pass — a permit

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