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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mark — a trace
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. bat — the animal
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rock — music
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. branch — a division
  17. cold — an illness
  18. rock — a stone
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. rush — hurry
  23. band — a music group
  24. cold — not warm

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