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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. branch — a division
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bore — to drill
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bore — to tire
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. hand — in cards
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. band — a ring
  19. chair — a leader
  20. hand — help
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. mine — for digging
  24. branch — of a tree

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